The development of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms is a global challenge for the clinicians, pharmacist and research scientists leading to development of new medicinal formulations that are effective and easily consumable. The plant yielding essential oil with chief constituent as eugenol has been identified as an important compound with strong inhibition of bacteria, and storage fungi. Ocimum gratissimum is an aromatic shrub occurring in warm tropical regions has been used in traditional medicine in India to cure various ailments in general and as an antimicrobial agent in particular. The literature surveyed reveals that the plant oil exhibit strong potentiality against gram negative and gram positive bacteria along with diverse human and plant fungi. As a natural product the plant oil is safer as food preservatives and stored grain protectant and has wide application in cosmetics and perfumery industries. This comprehensive review is attempted to provide the valuable information on antimicrobial activities of the plant essential oil that will be used to explore and develop a standard therapeutics system for the management of clinical and multiple drug resistant microorganisms
