Cinnamomum verum (true cinnamon) leaf essential oil as an effective therapeutic alternative against oral and non-oral biofilm infections: A brief review

Medicinal plants play a major role as an alternative therapeutic agents for various disease conditions including cardiac and hepatic diseases, microbial infections and non-communicable disease such as diabetes mellitus. With the excessive use of synthetic antimicrobial drugs, micro-organisms become more virulent and resistant to available antimicrobial therapeutic agents. Further majority (around 60%-80%) of human microbial infections are biofilm associated infections and various resistance mechanisms of biofilms make it more difficult to eradicate or treat biofilm infections using available antimicrobial therapeutics. Further, biofilm structure acts as a physical barrier and prevent penetration of antimicrobial agents towards the biofilm core. Currently, scientists pay their attention to invent novel effective antimicrobial agents with less side effects for these biofilm infections. Phytochemicals have identified as a potential alternative antimicrobial strategy in biofilm control and eradication. Cinnamomum verum is a native Sri Lankan medicinal plant that has been widely used as a culinary spice, exhibits many medicinal benefits especially activity against microbial infectious diseases. Essential oils extracted from leaf and bark of C. verum have been used as a safe and effective antimicrobial agents against various infections for centuries. This review analyses the available scientific literature evidences on appositeness of true cinnamon leaf essential oil as an alternative antimicrobial strategy to control microbial biofilm infections with medical importance.