Synergistic antimicrobial potential of essential oils in combination with nanoparticles: Emerging trends and future perspectives

The development of resistance to different antimicrobial agents by bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, etc. is a great challenge to the medical field for the treatment of infections caused by them, and therefore, there is a pressing need to search for new and novel antimicrobials. The antimicrobial activity of essential oils and biogenic nanoparticles is well known. Recent studies have demonstrated that nanoparticles functionalized with essential oils have significant antimicrobial potential against multidrug-resistant pathogens. The aim of the present review is to discuss various studies on the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of essential oils used singly and in combination with nanoparticles. The brief explanation of their mechanism has also been discussed. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.