The growing risk of antibiotic resistance has driven the scientific interest of alternative methods devel-opment suitable for treatment of animals and food products. Essential oils have been proven to be effective against various bacteria, yeasts and molds. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of thyme, cinnamon, black pepper and mint essential oils against type strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococ-cus aureus (S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeroginosa) and Candida albicans (C. albicans). Anti-microbial activity was determined by measuring the inhibition zones on Mueller Hinton agar. The essential oils were tested using a ten-fold decreasing concentration gradient (from 100% to 10%). Results showed lim-ited inhibition zones for P. aeruginosa to all tested essential oils. E. coli, S. aureus, and C. albicans were inhibited significantly, whereas the cinnamon and thyme essential oils were with highest antimicrobial effect. These findings highlight the potential of selected essential oils as natural alternatives for antimicrobial agents.
Kyuchukova et al. (Sun,) studied this question.