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Table 1 Summary of results of antibacterial activity of essential oils

From: Comparison of the antibacterial activity of essential oils and extracts of medicinal and culinary herbs to investigate potential new treatments for irritable bowel syndrome

Vernacular name

Botanical name

Activity in disc diffusion assay

Activity in turbido-metric assay

Activity in zone of clearance assay

Coriander seed

Coriandrum sativum

++

+++

+++

(0.0053)

(5.82 × 10-5)

(0.0002)

Fennel

Foeniculum vulgare

+

+++

+

(0.0003)

(8.01 × 10-6)

(0.0027)

Grapeseed

Vitis vinifera

-

-

-

 

(0.3216)

 

Lavender

Lavendula angustifolia

+

++

+

(0.0039)

(0.0031)

(0.0011)

Lemon balm

Melissa officinalis

++

++

+++

(0.0041)

(0.0008)

(0.0014)

Lemon grass

Cymbopogon citratus

++

++

+

(0.0004)

(0.0030)

(0.0003)

Mandarin

Citrus reticulata

++

+++

+

(0.0092)

(3.39 × 10-5)

(0.0484)

Neem

Azadirachta indica

-

ND

-

Peppermint

Mentha piperita

++

+++

+++

(0.0390)

(3.14 × 10-5)

(0.0000)

Pine

Pinus sylvestris

+++

++

++

(0.0027)

(0.0003)

(0.0001)

Rosemary

Rosmarinus officinalis

+

++

+

(0.0000)

(0.0085)

(0.0036)

Sage

Salvia lavendulifolia

+

+++

+

(0.0022)

(3.39 × 10-6)

(0.0021)

Tea tree

Melaleuca alternifolia

+++

+++

+++

(0.0079)

(5.83 × 10-6)

(0.0000)

Thyme

Thymus vulgaris

+++

+++

+

(0.0020)

(5.84 × 10-5)

(0.0193)

Ylang ylang

Cananga odorata var. genuina

+/-

+

-

 

(0.0075)

(0.0477)

 
  1. Crosses denote the magnitude of the antibacterial activity; the numbers in brackets are the P values obtained from t tests comparing the size of the halos produced with the essential oils with those produced by grapeseed oil for the disc diffusion and zone of clearance assays, and from comparing the A600 of the turbidometric assay in the presence of essential oil after 6 hours with that lacking essential oil.