ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the antibacterial mechanism of EOs from cell wall, cell membrane, DNA, respiration, and energy metabolism. The main components of cell wall and cell wall synthase can be used as important targets of essential oil active components. Essential oils affect the normal physiological function of plasma membrane by affecting fatty acids and proteins on the membrane. The hydrophobicity of essential oils and their components enables them to spread to lipid bilayers, affecting the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in cell membranes and changing their structure. The growth and reproduction of bacteria must have the absorption and transport of substances such as glucose and calcium, and these activities are inseparable from energy metabolism. DNA is the main genetic material, and parents copy part of their own DNA and pass it on to their offspring to complete the transmission of traits. The effect of essential oil on the cell morphology of Gram-negative bacteria was stronger than that of Gram-positive bacteria.
