Essential Oils: Chemistry and Pharmacological Activities

In this review, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the main mechanisms of pharmacological action of essential oils and their components in various biological systems. A brief introduction on essential oil chemistry is presented to better understand the relationship of chemical as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biomolecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 7; p. 1144
Main Authors: de Sousa, Damião P., Damasceno, Renan Oliveira S., Amorati, Riccardo, Elshabrawy, Hatem A., de Castro, Ricardo D., Bezerra, Daniel P., Nunes, Vitória Regina V., Gomes, Rebeca C., Lima, Tamires C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.07.2023
MDPI
Subjects:
anti-inflammatory
antioxidant
Biological activity
Biosynthesis
Bombast von Hohenheim, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus (Paracelsus) (1493-1541)
Chemical composition
Chemical properties
Chemistry
Drug development
Essences and essential oils
Essential oils
Health aspects
Hydrocarbons
Inflammation
medicinal plants
metabolites
Natural products
Oils & fats
Pharmacology, Experimental
Review
volatiles
Brazil
antifungal
natural products
antioxidant
antiviral
anti-inflammatory
antibacterial
medicinal plants
metabolites
anticancer
volatiles
ISSN:2218-273X, 2218-273X
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In this review, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the main mechanisms of pharmacological action of essential oils and their components in various biological systems. A brief introduction on essential oil chemistry is presented to better understand the relationship of chemical aspects with the bioactivity of these products. Next, the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and antimicrobial activities are discussed. The mechanisms of action against various types of viruses are also addressed. The data show that the multiplicity of pharmacological properties of essential oils occurs due to the chemical diversity in their composition and their ability to interfere with biological processes at cellular and multicellular levels via interaction with various biological targets. Therefore, these natural products can be a promising source for the development of new drugs.
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ISSN:2218-273X
2218-273X
DOI:10.3390/biom13071144