Abstract: Essential oils are volatile compounds extracted from the flowers, leaves, rhizome, and stems of plants; and are composed of secondary metabolites such as terpenes, phenols, alcohols and aldehydes. Essential oils are widely applied in food, medicine and other fields because of their broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. In recent years, the antibacterial mechanisms of essential oils and their components against pathogenic microorganisms are mainly discussed. These studies have demonstrated that essential oils and their components may have multiple targets for inhibiting pathogenic microorganisms, including cell wall, cell membrane and DNA. In this article, the antibacterial mechanisms of plant essential oils and their components against pathogenic microorganisms are reviewed, which can provide the basis for future research and applications of essential oils from plants.

Key words: essential oils, pathogenic bacteria, antimicrobial, mechanism