Correction: Nanoformulated Peppermint and Rosemary Essential Oils Show Antibacterial Effects

A published correction in International Microbiology has clarified who should be contacted about a study exploring nanoformulated peppermint and rosemary essential oils for antibacterial applications. The notice does not report new experiments or revise the study’s findings. Instead, it fixes an authorship-related error in the original publication: Shahram Aramideh was incorrectly identified as the corresponding author, while the correct corresponding author is Mahmoud Pouryousef Miandoab. The original article has now been amended to reflect that correction. Although the change is administrative rather than experimental, corresponding-author information is an important part of the scientific record because it identifies the researcher responsible for handling communication about the work, coordinating responses to questions, and addressing requests concerning methods, data, or materials.

The corrected paper is linked to research on the nanoformulation of essential oils obtained from peppermint, Mentha piperita L., and rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis L. Its title indicates a focus on antibacterial effects, placing the work at the intersection of microbiology, natural products, food nanotechnology, and nanobiotechnology. Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds produced by plants. Many contain molecules capable of disturbing microbial membranes, altering permeability, affecting cellular metabolism, or interfering with biochemical processes. Yet their direct use can be limited by volatility, poor water solubility, rapid evaporation, sensitivity to light and oxygen, and difficulty maintaining a consistent concentration. Nanoformulation is one strategy researchers use to package such hydrophobic compounds into nanoscale delivery systems, potentially changing how they disperse, remain stable, and interact with microbial cells.

The correction itself contains no antibacterial measurements, microorganism lists, formulation recipes, particle-size data, or toxicity results. It therefore cannot be used to conclude that the peppermint or rosemary preparations were more powerful than conventional antibiotics, effective against infections in people, or ready for use in food, medicine, or agriculture. Those questions would require examination of the original research article and independent validation. The notice serves a narrower but essential purpose: it ensures that the person officially responsible for correspondence is correctly named. In scientific publishing, even a seemingly small metadata error can create practical problems. Researchers attempting to reproduce an experiment may contact the wrong author, editors may direct post-publication queries incorrectly, and responsibility for clarifying technical details may become ambiguous.

The distinction between an author and a corresponding author is especially relevant in collaborative research. A paper can involve investigators from several departments, institutions, or scientific disciplines, with different contributors handling microbiological assays, plant science, formulation development, or data analysis. The corresponding author acts as the publication’s principal communication point, both during peer review and after publication. This role does not necessarily mean that the person performed every experiment or led every aspect of the project. It means that the journal records that author as the contact for formal correspondence. In the corrected notice, the affiliations span the Department of Microbiology at Ka.C., Islamic Azad University, the Department of Agronomy and Agroecology at Ur.C., Islamic Azad University, and the Department of Plant Protection at Urmia University, all in Iran. The correction assigns the contact role to Miandoab, whose listed affiliation is the Department of Agronomy and Agroecology.

The technical subject behind the paper reflects a growing effort to make plant-derived antimicrobials more controllable. In a conventional essential-oil preparation, the active molecules may separate from water or form uneven mixtures, making laboratory exposure difficult to standardize. A nanoscale carrier can help disperse oil components through an aqueous environment, increasing the interfacial area between the formulation and surrounding fluid. Depending on the carrier and manufacturing method, the system may also influence release kinetics: compounds can be released rapidly, gradually, or in response to environmental conditions. These properties matter in antibacterial testing because the measured effect depends not only on the chemical identity of an oil’s constituents but also on how much of each compound reaches the bacterial cell, how long it remains available, and whether the formulation itself changes contact with the cell envelope.

Peppermint and rosemary oils are chemically complex rather than single active ingredients. Their composition can vary with plant variety, geography, cultivation conditions, harvest timing, extraction method, and storage. That variability is one reason that antibacterial claims based on “essential oil” alone require careful characterization. A reproducible study generally needs to establish the composition of the oil, describe the formulation, measure relevant physical properties, and use controlled microbiological assays. Nanoformulation can improve dispersion, but it does not automatically guarantee greater antibacterial activity, safety, stability, or commercial value. Particle size, surface chemistry, encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, release behavior, and interactions with growth media can all affect experimental outcomes. The correction does not alter or elaborate on any of those parameters, so the available notice should be understood as a publication-record update rather than a new technical report.

The article’s placement in International Microbiology and its association with subjects including antimicrobials, natural products, oils, food nanotechnology, nanomedicine and nanotoxicology, and nanobiotechnology illustrates how broadly such research can be relevant. Plant-based antimicrobial systems are being investigated for possible roles in food preservation, surface protection, agricultural disease management, and other applications. Each context presents different requirements. A formulation intended to inhibit bacteria on food must be assessed for sensory effects, migration, stability, and consumer safety. A medical application would require rigorous toxicology, pharmacology, and clinical testing. An agricultural use would raise questions about environmental persistence, effects on beneficial organisms, and field performance. None of those applications can be inferred from the correction, but they explain why accurate author contact information matters for researchers seeking clarification before interpreting or extending the work.

The correction was published as an open-access notice in volume 29 of International Microbiology, on page 729, and identifies the original article as having been published on 28 February 2026. Its formal wording is direct: the authors regret that Aramideh was mistakenly captured as the corresponding author, state that Miandoab is the correct corresponding author, and confirm that the original article has been corrected. Such notices are part of the normal mechanism by which journals maintain the accuracy of the scholarly record. They distinguish a factual amendment from a retraction, expression of concern, or correction to experimental data. Here, the scientific title and the subject of the study remain the same; what changes is the attribution of the communication role. For readers following research on essential-oil nanoformulations, the update provides a more reliable route to the investigators responsible for answering questions about the published work.

The episode also highlights a broader point about the infrastructure of science: credibility depends not only on striking results but on precise, traceable records. Names, affiliations, publication dates, identifiers, and contact details allow studies to be found, discussed, reproduced, and connected to later research. In this case, the correction preserves the visibility of a study investigating peppermint and rosemary oils while removing an error that could have redirected scholarly correspondence. It does not establish that nanoformulated oils can replace antibiotics, nor does it provide evidence for clinical efficacy. Instead, it ensures that future readers, editors, and researchers know whom the journal recognizes as the corresponding author. That modest clarification may not change the chemistry of an essential oil or the behavior of a nanoparticle, but it strengthens the chain of accountability on which experimental science depends.