S.Arash Alijanzadeh - Pharmacy Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Science, Sari, Iran
Fatemeh Mirzaee - Department of Pharmacognosy, School of pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Science, Sari, Iran

Background and Objective: In last years, studies has been conducted to explore broad spectrum antimicrobial activity in plant constituents to find a solution against multiple antibiotic resistant micro-organisms (1,2). Mentha genus (family Lamiaceae) includes 25-30 species that are under cultivation from tropical to temperate climates (3,4).Materials and Method: We reviewed the most important electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. We search for each of the Mentha, antibacterial, antifungal and constituents keywords. Findings: The results shows that Mentha spicata, Mentha piperita and Mentha longifolia essential oil such as carvone, menthol, menthone are effective against several bacterial strains (Staphylococcus and Streptococcus species, L. acidophilus, E.coli, Bacillus species), fungi (Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillum species) and yeasts (C.albicans). Conclusion: Based on results, antimicrobial efficacy of Mentha essential oils has been found to vary from moderate to significant, often correlating with the composition of the oil. Carvone is one of the most efficient antimicrobial agents of various plants with several mechanism of action on the growth micro-organisms includes de-stabilization of the phospholipid bilayer structure and interaction with membrane enzymes and proteins. Based on this review, the essential oils of Mentha species possess antimicrobial activity against several human, plant and food microorganism and can be a good source of natural antimicrobial agent.

Mentha, Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Fungal, Constituents.