Table 2.
Activity of top 10 essential oils that are active against stationary phase Staphylococcus aureus in terms of their activity against growing bacteria (MIC) and non-growing bacteria in drug exposure
| Drug /essential oil |
Plant | MIC (μg/mL /%) | Viability of bacteria after 3 or 5 days of EO b exposure (0.25%) c | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 day | 5 days | |||
| Gentamicin a | – | 1 | + | + |
| Sandalwood oil | Santalum spicatum | 0.015 | – | – |
| Amyris | Amycris balsamifera | 0.015 | + | – |
| Oregano | Origanum vulgare | 0.015 | + | – |
| Cinnamon bark | Cinnamomum zeylanicum | 0.03 | – | – |
| Allspice | Pimenta officicalis | 0.06 | + | – |
| Thyme white | Thymus zygis | 0.125 | – | – |
| Health shield | Cassia, clove, eucalyptus, lemon and rosemary | 0.125 | + | – |
| Bandit “Thieves” | cloves, cinnamon, lemon, rosemary and eucalyptus | 0.125 | – | – |
| Lemongrass | Cymbopogon flexuosus | 0.125 | – | – |
| Palmarosa | Cymbopogon martinii | 0.125 | + | – |
a The concentration of gentamicin used in drug exposure was 50 μM; b “EO” essential oil; c “-” No obvious colonies grew on TSB plate after drug exposure; “+” Obvious colonies were found on TSB plate after drug exposure