Effect of Essential Oils on Pathogenic Bacteria
This article was based roughly on research by Basil Pharmaceuticals that can be found at the National Institute of Health
You can fight lethal pathogens including viral, bacteria, fungal and parasitic with essential oils, the new and upcoming biocide which supersedes chemical and drug resistant pathogens. Plants contain various constituents as a defensive mechanism and it is possible with essential oils to tap into this healing and protective quality. The marvelous thing about essential oils is that they are generally broad-spectrum and can address many health issues when they applied or inhaled.
Essential oils can be extracted from “all plant organs, including buds, flowers, leave, seeds, twigs, stems, flowers, fruits, roots, wood or bark, but are generally stored by the plant in secretory cells, cavities, canals, glandular trichomes or epidermic cells”.
Essential oils from plants are used for their anti-oxidant qualities as well as their antiseptic, medicinal properties, and aroma-therapy. Essential oils can be used in the preservation of foods and as analgesics, sedatives, anti-inflammatory, spasmolytics and local anesthetics.
Their secondary metabolites can slow or inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and molds.
- Cell by Basil Pharmaceuticals
Gram positive bacteria are more susceptible than Gram negative bacteria due to the structures of the cells. Gram positive bacteria allow hydrophobic molecules to easily penetrate the cells and act on both the cell wall and within the cytoplasm.
When you put together an essential oil first aide kit it is important to learn about the anti-microbial properties in each oil. It may seem like more information than you want to know, but in a life-threatening situation, that information can save your life.
All Pathways Lead to Microbial War
Basil Pharmaceuticals
Immune systems and plants work much like a cascading waterfall. One chemical or interaction cascades into a fluid protection system. In a sense, essential oils work like our immune systems. This unique mechanism is a cascade of chemical reactions involving the entire bacterial cell and whether it lives or dies. The essential oil cascade is, “essential oil versatility”.
In your body, one of the many immune cascades or pathways is the “Compliment Cascade”. The Compliment system is one of the major mediators of inflammation and immune response. The Compliment Cascade is composed of distinct proteins that act as regulations and inhibitors. The proteins circulate in our body silently until activated by an invader when they cascade into action through the classical or alternative pathways, the highways in our body’s defense.
Penetrating the Enemy
When an invader attacks it triggers, or is suppose to trigger, a complex membrane defense system (MAC) which permeates the walls of the invader. This cascade interferes with electron transport, destabilizes cell wall integrity( lysis) by creating a channel which floods the invader, bleeding out the trespasser’s substance, swelling and finally cell death. Penetration or lysis is not always necessary as with tea tree oil that can kill E. coli.
Essential oils are used to overwhelm novel microbes through the lipid biosysnthesis pathway due to their hydrophobic (do not like water) which affect the percentage of unsaturated fatty acids and altering their structure. They accomplish their task by using an ancient form of warfare, surrounding a city and cutting off its necessities such as food and water. This siege detrimentally affects the community within. The most effective anti-microbial warriors are those containing phenol compounds such as thyme, oregano, savory, and clove.
The lipid biosynthesis pathway is an important target for the development of novel antimicrobials. Due to their hydrophobic nature, EOs and/or their components can affect the percentage of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and alter their structure. Forcing the enemy to restructure is a way to change their operations, making them more vulnerable.
Your body contains an intriguing network of proteins. Bacteria survival also hinges upon proteins. Pathogens have an intricate protein environmental conservation program. Essential oils act on proteins found in bacteria and may affect their cell division. The old adage, “divide and conquer” is used to quell pathogens by inhibiting CZ-ring formation and restrain the dynamics foreign assembly. Cinnamon oil is particularly effective at inhibiting cell division. Epidemiology, warriors, and emergency managers all use a ring formation to designate, defend, and terminate emerging threats.
Essential Oil Warrior Class
While cinnamon oil prevents foreign troop assembly and formation Thyme EO significantly changes proteins belonging to different classes. Thyme increases chaperone classes who work overtime and in collaboration with peptides by triggering a bacterial envelope stressor. Chaos ensues due to stress of class warfare and misguided proteins. Tyme EO can also affect the expression of proteins involved in energy metabolism. Every battle needs an energy source and the constituents of Thyme are uniquely situated to divert energy from the life and death struggle of pathogens.
Interestingly, as in biblical patterns, there are 12-warrior classes, within 4 family divisions within essential oils. The families are:
- Aldehydes
- Esthers
- Terpene/Sesquiterpene
- Terepene Hydrocarbaron
The warrior classes are (Franchomme and Penoel)
- Alcohol & Phenol-Coriander, Lavender, Rose, Geranium
- Phenol methyl-ether
- Esther-oxides-Clary Sage, Lavender, Ylang-Ylang
- Methylcoumarins
- Acetophenomes
- Hydroquinolones
- Ketones-Thujone,
- Lactones
- Courmins
- Phthalides
- Aldehydes- Citronella and cuminal EO
- Bi or multi-functional components
Terpenes
Among the terpenes, cumin, orange, melaluca, black pepper, spruce, oak, carrots seed, sage and pine are the most well known. Most terpenes do not possess high inherent antimicrobial activity.
Terpenoids
Terpenoids are terpenes with added oxygen molecules or that have had their methyl groups moved or removed by specific enzymes. Thyme, oregano, mint, citronellal and eucalyptus are the most common and well-known terpenoids. The antimicrobial activity of most terpenoids is related to theirfunction and other factors.
Phenols
Phenols are a complex essence and are one-dimensional being aggressive, powerful, and easily dominating the olfactory and immunity defense. Thyme, Oregano, Savory
Phenylpropenes
Phenylpropenes are named as such because they contain a six-carbon aromatic phenol group and a three-carbon propene tail from cinnamic acid. These compounds represent a relatively small portion of EOs. Clove, vanilla, sassafras and cinnamon are the most studied phenylpropenes.
Bacteria response differently to various components within each EO. It is hypothesized that there may be differences in the ability of the small advance guard of hydrophobic molecules that interact with the outer surface of the cells and thus gain access to the cell membrane.
Metabolomics: Chemical Fingerprints
Microorganisms live in a world of vacillating chemical signals. Microbial metabolites are the platform necessary for organism resilience. When metabolites thrive, sensitive organisms wane. As in any microbial community, metabolites can change response to environmental stress conditions. This can affect their function, engineering, character, and communication systems. Metabolomics is the “unique chemical fingerprints” that are left behind. Each individual metabolite responds differently to varying doses of the EOs or their constituents in their invisible combat for biodiversity superiority.
Shape of Things to Come
The activity of EOs and/or their components differs depending on the shape of the bacteria studied, and rod shaped bacterial cells have been reported to be more sensitive to EOs than coccoid cells. Clove oil may be capable of disrupting the membrane and allowing the leakage of intracellular constituents, while the other compounds may only cause structural alterations of the outer envelope. In some bacteria, cells treated with cinnamon and oranges present external modifications, suggesting that these compounds penetrate the cell envelope and alter its structure.
Intercellular Communications
Bacteria communicate to each other and associate with higher organisms through intercellular communication known as quorum sensing. Quorum sensing (QS) does not occur with a single bacterium but only in community. This communication regulates activities such as:
- Virulence expression (aggressive pathogens mission to dominate)
- Bioluminescence (camouflage, attraction, defense, warning, communication)
- Sporulation (form a small, tough, protective endospore covering)
- Biofilm formation (community that sticks together)
- Mating
Chemical signaling molecules are bacterial phermones a chemical exuded demonstrating activity, energy, propagation, and health. These molecules encourage replication once a certain quorum or concentration is reached.
Researchers believe that herbal products will play a critical role as new therapeutic anti-pathogenic agents containing nontoxic ‘silencers’ of QS. This may provide the opportunity to control infections without encouraging the appearance of resistant bacterial strains.
“The EOs of lavender, roses, geraniums, cloves and rosemary are also able to inhibit QS, whereas orange and juniper EOs appear to have no anti-QS properties,” researchers have found. Investigations into the effects of different EO components are well in progress. Activity of plant extracts can be strain-specific and may depend on the QS molecule involved.
- High concentrations of cinnamon, cloves or lemon myrtle, lemongrass, or anything ‘lemony’ confers antimicrobial properties to EOs.
- The monoterpenes and phenols present in thyme, sage and rosemary EOs possess noticeable antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral activity.
- EOs with oregano, basil, sage, hyssop, rosemary, and marjoram, are active against E. coli, S. aureus, B. cereus and Salmonella spp. but are less effective against Pseudomonas
- High concentrations of cinnamon oil, cloves or ‘lemony’ oils confer antimicrobial
Researchers at Basil Pharmaceuticals believe essential oils hold the most promise as a reservoir of novel therapeutics according to researchers studying, Effect of Essential Oils on Pathogenic Bacteria. Different EOs from ornamental plants have been observed to be effective against biofilms formed by Salmonella, Listeria, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus and Lactobacillus spp. and this is the tip of the iceberg.
Pathogen Warriors Threatened by Regulators
We are in the dawn of research into the healing ability of essential oils. As antibiotic resistance increases treatment against pathogens using essential oils is skyrocketing. Families demanding alternatives to pharmaceuticals are engaging in ‘oiling’ their families for a variety of health reasons. Even ER rooms are getting into essential oils. Clinicians are turning to essential oil based alternatives such as Plague-B-Gone containing 12 historical pathogen fighting essential oils to wash their hands and use as EO hand sanitizers. Wildly popular essential oil parties are even being held competing with Tupperware, Avon, and Mary Kay. As interest piques government is laying a foundation to turn freely available essential oils into a drug. Witch-hunts are currently being carried out on essential oil companies and other natural healing advocates by the FDA because they dare inform consumers that essential oils have powerful constituents for healing. The FDA threatens criminal enforcement actions. Other public-private partnerships exclude healthy essential oil options or engage in a public shunning within marketplace venues such as the Internet.
While this promising new avenue for healing is hopeful government regulators and transnational companies are digging-in for biowarfare of a different sort. That is the regulation and placing of essential oils just beyond the reach of people who want natural healing power. Government would prefer to keep the efficacy of essential oils confined to the dark halls of the National Institute of Health.
The answer, my friend is blowing in the wind. Learn to wild-craft and process your own medicinal plants & flowers from your surroundings and garden. When you grow your own medicinal plants and flowers you reap even more health benefits than exclusively using pure essential oils, such as exercise, cooking, beauty, aroma, and food for the soul as you partake in a grandeur of creation.
Resources:
Effect of Essential Oils on Pathogenic Bacteria
Medicinal Aromatherapy, Kurt Schnaubelt
Immunology and Inflammation, Leonard H. Sigal
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