Research Progress in Antibacterial Mechanism of Plant Essential Oils from the Perspective of Multi-omics

In recent years, the antibacterial activity of plant essential oils has been extensively researched and applied in the food, drug, and cosmetics industries. Extensive research has discovered that plant essential oils can inhibit microbial growth in various ways such as disrupting the bacterial cell membrane, interfering with cellular metabolic activities, and influencing the synthesis of bacterial nucleic acids and proteins. Furthermore, plant essential oils exhibit a complex composition, with multiple target sites and broad-spectrum antibacterial properties. With the continuous advancement of research, omics technologies have made it possible to dissect the antibacterial mechanisms of plant essential oils. This article starts with an introduction to the classification and antibacterial activities of plant essential oils, and then summarizes recent progress in research on the antibacterial mechanisms of plant essential oils from the aspects of transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and multi-omics. Finally, this review provides an outlook on the future of this field, aiming to provide a theoretical foundation for understanding the multi-target antibacterial mechanisms of plant essential oils and for their application in the food industry.