Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents Against WHO Priority Bacterial Pathogens: A Strategic Review of In Vitro Clinical Efficacy, Innovations and Research Gaps.

ABSTRACT: The rapid rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a critical global health crisis, driven by the widespread emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) pathogens. This growing threat, coupled with the stagnation in the development of novel antibiotics, necessitates the investigation of alternative antimicrobial strategies. Plant-derived essential oils (EOs) have emerged as promising candidates due to their broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, multi-targeted mechanisms, and capacity to enhance the efficacy of existing antibiotics. Recent studies have underscored the potential of EOs in disrupting biofilms, inhibiting quorum sensing, modulating efflux pumps, and reversing resistance in a variety of bacterial pathogens, including those listed as

SUBMITTER: Iskandar K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12729739 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature