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Antibiotics
Volume 14
Issue 12
10.3390/antibiotics14121250
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Review

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

by
Katia Iskandar
1,2,3,*,
Nada Ahmed
4,
Narayan Paudyal
5,
Maria-Jose Ruiz Alvarez
6,
Subramani Paranthaman Balasubramani
7,
Danielle Saadeh
3,
Sami Ullah Baig
8,
Hiba Sami
9,
Dalal Hammoudi Halat
10,
Nebojša Pavlović
11,
Christine Roques
12,13,
Meher Rizvi
14,
Pascale Salameh
3,15,16,
Faten Hamed
1 and
Maarten Van Dongen
17
1
Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut 1105, Lebanon
2
Faculty of Public Health-Section 2, Lebanese University, Fanar 2611, Lebanon
3
INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut 1103, Lebanon
4
Department of Microbiology, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria 5424041, Egypt
5
National Animal Health Research Center, Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Khumaltar, Lalitpur P.O. Box 3733, Nepal
6
Research Coordination and Promotion Service, National Institute of Health (ISS), Viale Regina-Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
7
Department of Natural Sciences, Albany State University, 2400 Gillionville Rd., Albany, GA 31707, USA
8
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Bahria University Islamabad Campus, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
9
Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202001, India
10
QU Health Office of Assessment and Accreditation, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
11
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
12
Laboratoire de Génie Chimique, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Toulouse, 31062 Toulouse, France
13
ACM Pharma FONDEREPHAR, 3 Rue des Satellites, Canal Biotech 2, 31400 Toulouse, France
14
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman
15
Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia 2408, Cyprus
16
Gilbert and Rose Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos P.O. Box 36, Lebanon
17
AMR Insights, 1017 EG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
 
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Antibiotics 2025, 14(12), 1250; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14121250
Submission received: 29 July 2025 / Revised: 24 October 2025 / Accepted: 8 November 2025 / Published: 10 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Properties of Essential Oils: Activities, Mechanisms, Applications, and Therapeutic Potential)
Versions Notes

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 priorities by the World Health Organization. Notably, many of these effects have been demonstrated against resistant strains isolated directly from clinical samples, thereby enhancing the translational significance of EOs. In addition to their antimicrobial properties, advances in analytical, omics-based, and microfluidic technologies have further elucidated the mechanisms of EOs and may accelerate their therapeutic development. Nevertheless, challenges such as variability in composition, lack of standardized testing protocols, and limited in vivo data continue to impede clinical  application. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review is to critically examine the advances over the past decade in the antibacterial activity of plant EOs against clinical isolates, with a particular focus on their efficacy against resistant bacterial pathogens and their potential role in combating AMR.
Keywords: plant essential oils; antibacterial; antimicrobial resistance; antibiotics; clinical isolates; bacteria; synergism; challenges; extraction methods plant essential oils; antibacterial; antimicrobial resistance; antibiotics; clinical isolates; bacteria; synergism; challenges; extraction methods

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Iskandar, K.; Ahmed, N.; Paudyal, N.; Ruiz Alvarez, M.-J.; Balasubramani, S.P.; Saadeh, D.; Ullah Baig, S.; Sami, H.; Hammoudi Halat, D.; Pavlović, N.; et al. Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents Against WHO Priority Bacterial Pathogens: A Strategic Review of In Vitro Clinical Efficacy, Innovations and Research Gaps. Antibiotics 2025, 14, 1250. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14121250

AMA Style

Iskandar K, Ahmed N, Paudyal N, Ruiz Alvarez M-J, Balasubramani SP, Saadeh D, Ullah Baig S, Sami H, Hammoudi Halat D, Pavlović N, et al. Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents Against WHO Priority Bacterial Pathogens: A Strategic Review of In Vitro Clinical Efficacy, Innovations and Research Gaps. Antibiotics. 2025; 14(12):1250. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14121250

Chicago/Turabian Style

Iskandar, Katia, Nada Ahmed, Narayan Paudyal, Maria-Jose Ruiz Alvarez, Subramani Paranthaman Balasubramani, Danielle Saadeh, Sami Ullah Baig, Hiba Sami, Dalal Hammoudi Halat, Nebojša Pavlović, and et al. 2025. "Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents Against WHO Priority Bacterial Pathogens: A Strategic Review of In Vitro Clinical Efficacy, Innovations and Research Gaps" Antibiotics 14, no. 12: 1250. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14121250

APA Style

Iskandar, K., Ahmed, N., Paudyal, N., Ruiz Alvarez, M.-J., Balasubramani, S. P., Saadeh, D., Ullah Baig, S., Sami, H., Hammoudi Halat, D., Pavlović, N., Roques, C., Rizvi, M., Salameh, P., Hamed, F., & Van Dongen, M. (2025). Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents Against WHO Priority Bacterial Pathogens: A Strategic Review of In Vitro Clinical Efficacy, Innovations and Research Gaps. Antibiotics, 14(12), 1250. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14121250

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