Advances in Plant Essential Oils

Dear Colleagues,

Essential oils (EOs) obtained from plants have several and important applications in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and agricultural industries. These oils are complex mixtures of natural products produced by plants of medicinal or nutritional importance, with variable yields depending on the extraction methods. The chemical composition of EOs is diverse and characteristic of each plant species. Plants’ EOs are appreciated for their aroma and flavor as well as for the important biological activities that they display, such as antibacterial, antioxidant, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiviral, enzyme inhibition and insecticide, among others.

Despite their valuable biological properties, the commercial use of EOs is delayed because of their low water solubility, high volatility, thermal decomposition, high oxidation rates and, in many cases, poor extraction yields. To overcome these problems and enhance EO efficacy, several technological advances have been reported over the past decades. Searching for more environmentally friendly extraction methods, innovative and alternative techniques are currently available to improve the recovery of these natural products, such as emergent and ecofriendly pretreatments or alternative faster and cheaper extractions methods. Additionally, the incorporation of these volatile and complex mixtures of secondary metabolites into nanoscale materials and nanodevices has proven to be a successful strategy to protect EOs from degradation and losses caused by evaporation, achieving a controlled release of EOs and facilitating their handling.

Regarding the biological activity of EOs, every day, new advances are reported in the literature that confirm the potential usefulness of these complex mixtures of metabolites against new targets. Additionally, the combination of EOs and already known active compounds, from both natural or synthetic origin, has been proposed as a way to improve biological activity in some commercial products or materials in diverse application fields.

This Special Issue aims to provide a general overview of the latest advances that might help to fully exploit the rich chemical diversity and biological applications of the valuable EOs produced by plants. Original research articles and specialized critical reviews exploring these advances are welcome.

Dr. Ana Paula Murray
Dr. Jorge Omar Werdin Gonzalez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• essential oils
• biological activity
• ecofriendly extraction techniques
• pretreatments
• nanoformulation
• combined products