The use of medicinal plants probably dates back thousands of years. There is
archaeological evidence that dates back to their first use, probably to 60,000 years ago.
The main products of the plants, which have shown antimicrobial activity, can be
classified as phenolics, terpenoids, essential oils (EOs), alkaloids, lectins, polypeptides,
and polyacetilenes. Among plant extracts, the essential oils have been used in
traditional medicine as therapeutic remedies in the past thanks to their pharmacological
properties and their therapeutic importance has been discussed on numerous occasions
in the literature. According to the literature, it is known that some EOs possess good
antimicrobial activity even against multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains and it has also
been seen that some EOs can improve the activity of antibiotics, reducing the dose and
toxicity, when used in combination. This review will discuss the antimicrobial activity
of EOs with particular attention on their components that can have biological
applications, and attention will be focused on those EOs that have shown an activity
against MDR microorganisms.
Keywords: Essential oils, Extremely drug resistant (XDR), Multi-drug resistance
(MDR), Pan drug resistant (PDR), Susceptibility.
