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Essential Oils—Third Edition

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1202

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following the success of the first and second Special Issues "Essential Oils 2021" and "Essential Oils II”, we are launching the third edition “Essential Oils—Third Edition” to invite the selected experts in this field.

Essential oils are natural secondary metabolites, produced by aromatic plants, which are responsible for their distinctive scents. These liquid, volatile, and often colorful compounds are soluble in organic solvents and are complex mixtures of terpenoids, primarily monoterpenes (C10) and sesquiterpenes (C15). Essential oils can be found in various plant organs, including buds, flowers, leaves, seeds, twigs, stems, fruits, roots, wood, or bark and can be obtained through mechanical pressing or distillation. These concentrated plant extracts retain the natural aroma and flavor of their botanical sources. The chemical composition of an essential oil can vary significantly, not only within the same plant species but also from one individual plant to another. This variability is influenced by a range of factors, such as genetic makeup, geographical origin, environmental conditions, nutritional status, the specific plant parts extracted (e.g., stem, leaf, flower, etc.), and the extraction methods employed.

Since ancient times, plant-derived essential oils have been an integral part of traditional medicine and pharmacopoeia, particularly for their antimicrobial properties. However, their biological activities extend far beyond their antimicrobial effects. Essential oils have been found to exhibit a diverse array of beneficial properties, including anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, antidiabetic, spasmolytic, sedative, anti-cancer, insecticidal, and insect-repellent activities. In the natural world, essential oils play a crucial role in the protection and interactions of plants. Their allelopathic potential can influence not only other plants but also the microorganisms present within the same agro-ecosystems. Understanding the complex mechanisms underlying the biological activities of essential oils remains an ongoing challenge for researchers.

This Special Issue aims to bring together a diverse range of contributions that delve into the various aspects of essential oils. We invite original research, mini-reviews, comprehensive reviews, brief communications, and perspectives that address any of the following topics:

  • Biosynthesis of essential oils within plants;
  • The functional roles of essential oils in plant physiology and ecology;
  • Elucidating the mechanisms of action of essential oils;
  • Investigating the in vitro and in vivo biological activities of essential oils.

By exploring the multifaceted world of essential oils, this Special Issue seeks to advance our understanding of these remarkable plant-derived compounds and their potential applications in various fields, from medicine and agriculture to environmental science and beyond.

Dr. Laura De Martino
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Molecules 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 2700 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
  • volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  • chemical fingerprinting
  • isoprenoids
  • gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
  • nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy
  • physiological functions of essential oils in plants
  • molecular mechanisms of essential oils
  • in vitro and in vivo bioactivities
  • antimicrobial agents
  • anti-infective properties
  • antioxidant potential
  • allelopathic interactions
  • biosynthetic pathways
  • extraction techniques

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 1788 KiB  
Article
Chemical Composition, Anti-Tyrosinase and Antioxidant Potential of Essential Oils from Acorus calamus (L.) and Juniperus communis (L.)
by Hubert Sytykiewicz, Iwona Łukasik and Sylwia Goławska
Molecules 2025, 30(11), 2417; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30112417 - 31 May 2025
Viewed by 518
Abstract
The essential oils (EOs) represent a natural source of diverse phytoconstituents that may exert a wide range of health-promoting effects, including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory activities. Compounds with antioxidative and anti-tyrosinase properties present in EOs may suppress excessive melanin production and protect [...] Read more.
The essential oils (EOs) represent a natural source of diverse phytoconstituents that may exert a wide range of health-promoting effects, including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory activities. Compounds with antioxidative and anti-tyrosinase properties present in EOs may suppress excessive melanin production and protect skin cells from oxidative stress factors that often aggravate the pigmentation process. Acorus calamus L. and Juniperus communis L. plants have been traditionally used in phytotherapy, either individually or in combination. However, the biological and pharmacological effects of the essential oils derived from A. calamus rhizomes (EOA) and J. communis cone-berries (EOJ) remain underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate (1) the chemical composition of both EOA and EOJ using the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique; (2) the anti-tyrosinase activity of the two examined EOs; and (3) their antioxidant potential against DPPH and ABTS free radicals. In addition, the anti-tyrosinase and antioxidant activities of mixtures of EOA and EOJ were also investigated. GC-MS analyses identified 48 and 81 chemical compounds in the EOA and EOJ, respectively. The main constituents of the EOA were sesquiterpenoids, including acorenone (18.1%), preisocalamendiol (12.0%), shyobunone (7.5%), and isoshyobunone (5.7%). In contrast, EOJ was primarily composed of α-pinene (22%), a monoterpene. In vitro analyses demonstrated that both individual and combined EOs exhibited notable antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase activities. The health-promoting potential of these EOs is discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils—Third Edition)
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