Biological Activities of Essential Oils: From Plant Chemoecology to Traditional Healing Systems

Overview

Journal Molecules

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biology

Date 2017 Jan 4

PMID 28045446

Citations 219

Authors

Javad Sharifi-Rad

Antoni Sureda

Gian Carlo Tenore

Maria Daglia

Mehdi Sharifi-Rad

Marco Valussi

Rosa Tundis

Marzieh Sharifi-Rad

Monica R Loizzo

Adedayo Oluwaseun Ademiluyi

Razieh Sharifi-Rad

Seyed Abdulmajid Ayatollahi

Marcello Iriti

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Essential oils are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons and their oxygenated derivatives arising from two different isoprenoid pathways. Essential oils are produced by glandular trichomes and other secretory structures, specialized secretory tissues mainly diffused onto the surface of plant organs, particularly flowers and leaves, thus exerting a pivotal ecological role in plant. In addition, essential oils have been used, since ancient times, in many different traditional healing systems all over the world, because of their biological activities. Many preclinical studies have documented antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of essential oils in a number of cell and animal models, also elucidating their mechanism of action and pharmacological targets, though the paucity of in human studies limits the potential of essential oils as effective and safe phytotherapeutic agents. More well-designed clinical trials are needed in order to ascertain the real efficacy and safety of these plant products.

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