## 3 Results and Discussion
The inhibitory effect of lavender EO on _Staphylococcus aureus_ ATCC 25923 was lower (MIC = 2000 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\SIUnitSymbolMicro}\)/cm\({}^{3}\)) (Figure 4a). The antimicrobial action of the EOs of raspberry seed and ylang-ylang on the growth of _Staphylococcus aureus_ ATCC 25923 was significantly lower (the MIC was more than 30,000 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\SIUnitSymbolMicro}\)/cm\({}^{3}\)) (Figure 4b). The EOs demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against the pathogenic microorganism _Enterococcus faecalis_ ATCC 29212; the highest inhibitory activity was determined in peppermint EO (MIC = 500 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\SIUnitSymbolMicro}\)/cm\({}^{3}\)), followed by lavender EO (MIC = 1000 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\SIUnitSymbolMicro}\)/cm\({}^{3}\)) (Figure 5a). The antimicrobial action of raspberry seed and ylang-ylang EOs (MIC was higher than 30,000 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\SIUnitSymbolMicro}\)/cm\({}^{3}\)) on _Enterococcus faecalis_ ATCC 29212 cells was significantly lower (Figure 5b). Figure 4: Inhibitory activity of EOs on the growth of _Staphylococcus aureus_ ATCC 25923. (a) peppermint and lavender EOs. (b) raspberry seed and ylang-ylang EOs. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the EOs of peppermint, lavender, raspberry seed, and ylang-ylang were determined based on the studies conducted to determine the antimicrobial activity of EOs on the growth of _Escherichia coli_ ATCC 25922, _Salmonella abony_ ATCC 6017, _Pseudomonas aeruginosa_ NBIMCC 1390, and _Enterococcus faecalis_ ATCC 29212 (Table 5). The lowest minimum inhibitory concentrations were those in peppermint EO (MIC = 500-1000 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{cm}^{3}\)) and lavender EO (MIC = 15.63-2000 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{cm}^{3}\)). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for raspberry seed EO and ylang-ylang EO (MIC being higher than 30,000 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{cm}^{3}\)) was too high. Gram-positive bacteria demonstrated greater sensitivity to the studied EOs, with MIC values in the 500-1000 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{cm}^{3}\) range. The studied Gram-negative bacteria were less sensitive and the MICs were in the 15.63-2000 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{cm}^{3}\) range. This was probably due to the difference in the cell wall composition of the two bacterial groups. The existence of an external membrane in the Gram-negative bacterial cell wall interferes with the diffusion of extracts through the membrane into the cell cytoplasm, which results in greater resistance of the cells to the EO action [57]. The EO action mechanism is attributed to their chemical composition and antibacterial action, which is not always the same [58]. The results obtained in the present research are consistent with the observations of [57] that EOs have a stronger antibacterial effect on Gram-positive bacteria (e.g., _Staphylococcus aureus_) than on Gram-negative bacteria (e.g., _Escherichia coli_). This is connected to the differences in the cell wall structure and composition of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Obviously, the damage to the bacterial cellular membrane obtained is irreversible and the leakage of cytoplasmic components and ions and the lack of energy substrates lead to bacterial death [59; 60; 61]. The inhibitory activities of peppermint, lavender, raspberry seed, and ylang-ylang EOs on the growth of saprophytes that cause microbial spoilage have been studied, and the corresponding minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) have been determined. The observed antimicrobial effects of peppermint, lavender, raspberry seed, and ylang-ylang EOs on the growth of _Bacillus subtilis_ ATCC 19659 are presented in Figure 6a,b.