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Comparative Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Antibiotics
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The following are test data comparing the antimicrobial ability between essential oils (cinnamon and oregano) and antibiotics (penicillin and ampicillin). The method is disk diffusion and the results are the mean value of three replicates.
These preliminary data indicate that essential oils of cinnamon and oregano are comparable with penicillin and ampicillin in inhibitory activity against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus.| Material | Loading amount (μ 1) |
Escherichia coli zone of inhibition (cm) |
Staphylococcus aureus
zone of inhibition (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penicillin | 3 | 0 | 3.2 |
| Penicillin | 6 | 0 | 3.4 |
| Penicillin | 8 | 0 | 3.6 |
| Penicillin | 12 | 0 | 3.6 |
| Ampicillin | 3 | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| Ampicillin | 6 | 2.1 | 2.6 |
| Ampicillin | 8 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| Ampicillin | 12 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Cinnamon | 3 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Cinnamon | 6 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Cinnamon | 8 | — | 3.0 |
| Cinnamon | 12 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| Oregano | 3 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| Oregano | 6 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| Oregano | 8 | — | 3.6 |
| Oregano | 12 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
*The concentration of penicillin = 1.76 unit / μ1
The concentration of ampicillin = 5 μg/ μ1