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Essential Oils: Sources, Chemical Composition and Applications
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Essential Oils: Sources, Chemical Composition and Applications

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2024) | Viewed by 3013

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jose Maria Vicaria

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
Interests: chemical engineering; cleaning; enzymes; surfactant; allergen removal
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Encarnación Jurado Alameda

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
Interests: chemical engineering; cleaning; enzymes; surfactant; essential oils
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Essential oils are a mixture of volatile compounds such as monoterpenes, such as limonene, alpha-pinene and linalool; sesquiterpenes, such as beta-caryophyllene and germacrene; alcohols; esters; ketones; and phenols, such as thymol and carvacrol. They are extracted from plants such as oregano, thyme, citrus, eucalyptus, rose geranium, rosemary, garlic, cloves and others. Their chemical composition can vary greatly depending on the plant or extraction method, such as steam distillation, cold pressing, or solvent extraction.

Research on essential oils has focused on their chemical characterization, biological activity and mode of action using advanced analytical techniques, such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, to identify and quantify the chemical constituents of essential oils.

They are used in a wide range of applications, such as perfumery, cosmetics, food flavouring and traditional medicine. In recent years, interest in essential oils and their application in food preservation has grown due to the increasingly negative consumer perception of synthetic preservatives as they come from renewable sources. Recent studies have also explored the potential due to their biological activities, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and insecticidal properties. There is also growing interest in the use of essential oils as disinfecting agents in cleaning-related products. However, further research is needed to understand the mechanisms of action and to optimize their use in different applications.

For this Special Issue, papers concerning the identification of new sources of essential oils; the development and optimisation of more efficient methods for the extraction of essential oils from plant sources, including steam distillation, solvent extraction and supercritical fluid extraction; experimental techniques that allow more accurate characterization of essential oils; optimization and new methods for quality control and sustainable production; and, above all, different applications in which essential oils can be used.

Dr. Jose Maria Vicaria
Prof. Dr. Encarnación Jurado Alameda
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • essential oils
  • composition
  • characterization
  • applications
  • disinfection

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1983 KiB  
Article
Optimization of the Drying Temperature for High Quality Dried Melissa officinalis
by Panayiota Xylia and Antonios Chrysargyris
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(9), 5136; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15095136 - 5 May 2025
Viewed by 252
Abstract
The drying temperature is one of the main factors affecting the storage of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). The present study aimed to investigate the impact of different drying temperatures (20, 35, 42, and 49 °C) on Mentha officinalis quality attributes (moisture content, [...] Read more.
The drying temperature is one of the main factors affecting the storage of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). The present study aimed to investigate the impact of different drying temperatures (20, 35, 42, and 49 °C) on Mentha officinalis quality attributes (moisture content, color, chlorophyll content) and the composition of its essential oil (EO), as well as the environmental impact, to determine the optimum drying temperature for this herb. According to the current findings, higher temperatures resulted in shorter drying times. However, this was accompanied by increased energy consumption and higher carbon footprint per hour of operation. Both room temperature (20 °C) and high oven temperature (49 °C) led to a darker colored product (i.e., higher browning index). Drying at 20 °C resulted in a higher EO yield compared to drying at higher temperatures (42 and 49 °C). Furthermore, lower temperatures (20 and 35 °C) and the highest temperature (49 °C) significantly decreased the levels of the two major EO compounds (geranial and neral), whereas both compounds were found in higher levels when the plants were dried at 42 °C. On the other hand, plants dried at 42 °C appeared to have the lowest amount of citronellal, significantly lower than those dried at the other tested temperatures. The results suggest that the optimum temperature for drying M. officinalis is at 42 °C, as it maintained the quality attributes of the dried product while also resulting in high quality EO. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils: Sources, Chemical Composition and Applications)
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10 pages, 1661 KiB  
Article
Isolation of Geranyl Acetate and Chemical Analysis of the Essential Oil from Melaleuca armillaris (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Sm.
by Stalin P. Jaramillo, James Calva, Andy Jiménez and Chabaco Armijos
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(5), 1864; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14051864 - 24 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1852
Abstract
A method was developed for the isolation of geranyl acetate from the crude essential oil (EO) of Melaleuca armillaris (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Sm. leaves, and the purity of the isolated compound was analyzed by GC/MS spectral and NMR analysis and was found to [...] Read more.
A method was developed for the isolation of geranyl acetate from the crude essential oil (EO) of Melaleuca armillaris (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Sm. leaves, and the purity of the isolated compound was analyzed by GC/MS spectral and NMR analysis and was found to have high purity (98.9%). In addition, the EO isolated presented 0.907 g/cm3, 1.474 and [α]D20=−17.6 of density, refraction index and optical rotation, respectively. The chemical composition of the EO obtained for steam distillation from M. armillaris was analyzed by gas chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques (GC/MS and GC/FID). Thirty-eight compounds were identified, representing 99.92% of the total EO analyzed on a DB-5 ms (5% phenylmethylpolysiloxane) capillary column. This analysis showed that the EO consisted mainly of oxygenated monoterpenes (77.01%), followed by monoterpene hydrocarbons (21.31%) and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (1.31%). Furthermore, the essential oil of M. armillaris was rich in 1,8-cineol (67 ± 2%), followed by limonene (10 ± 1%), α-Terpineol (9 ± 1%) and α-Pinene (5 ± 1%). Finally, the results suggest that the geranyl acetate isolated with high purity from crude essential oil is recommended to be explored as a component in medicinal or industrial use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils: Sources, Chemical Composition and Applications)
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