Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi, I want to know how natural substances, like essential oils, fight and inhibit the growth of bacteria. I know that antibiotics like penicillin work because they interfere with the cell wall of the bacterium. However, is this process (the mode/mechanism of action) the same for natural substances, such as essential oils? If not, then what is the mode/mechanism of action that essential oils take in order to inhibit the growth of bacteria?

Thank you

Hello!

This is a very interesting question, as bacteria are becoming more resistant to conventional antibiotics we need to look to alternative treatments. I found an abstract on pubmed that indicated that the action of several natural compounds, inlcuding essential oils, against bacteria was dependant on damaging the bacteria's cell membrane and cell wall. Here is the link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16715803

I also found another article detailing an experiment that showed that natural substances induced bacterial cell lysis and provided evidence for the mechanism of action to be related to membrane and cell wall damage. Here is the link http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_q ... _n9287912/

Hope this helps,
Nithin T.

Thank youu so much The links really helped