Antibacterial properties of essential oils from Thai medicinal plants

By using disc diffusion assay, the antimicrobial activity of 32 essential oil samples extracted from local plants or plants cultivated in Thailand was evaluated against zoonotic enteropathogens including Salmonella spp., Escherichai coli O157, Campylobacter jejunii and Clostridium perferingens which are important for broiler export. Out of the essential oil tested, only the essential oil of Zingiber cassumuna, Cinnamomum bejolghota, Mentha arvensis var. piperacens, Cymbopogon citratus and Ocimum basilicum var. citratunt showed promising antibacterial activity against the bacteria tested. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.