Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 11429

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
Interests: essential oils; natural product isolation; natural product chemistry; phytochemicals

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Guest Editor
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Interests: ethnobotany; economic botany; essential oils; biological activity; medicinal and aromatic plants
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The modern era of human civilization heralded a tendency toward a healthier lifestyle and environment protection. In that regard, and considering emerging multidrug resistance, the discovery of novel and effective sources of natural constituents with significant therapeutic potential has attracted great attention in recent decades.

Medicinal plants represent a valuable source of natural compounds considered to exert different levels of biological activity, making them one of the pathways for dealing with the presented concerns. Essential oils (EOs), as one of these plant products, are considered to have a number of biological effects such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-allergic, antiviral, enzyme-inhibitory, insecticidal, anti-tumor, and pro-apoptotic properties, depending on the volatile’s chemical composition. Essential oils (EOs) are products obtained from a natural raw material of plant origin, through steam distillation, hydrodistillation, or mechanical processes (e.g., cold pressing)

The screening of EOs for their biological effects has been increasing, mainly because they are recognized as safe by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). It is known that synergistic effects can be responsible for the beneficial biological effects of these mixtures. Additionally, significant effects can be displayed by one of or a few of the components presented in these mixtures. Considering this, the identification of these volatile compounds may attribute to the comprehension of the mode of action of essential oils.

This Special Issue aims to present recent developments in knowledge about essential oils and their constituents as therapeutics and food preservatives, as well as to elucidate their possible mode of action. Moreover, it aims to provide an insight into factors affecting their chemical composition, such as the extraction method, the part of the plant used for extraction, and geographical origin.

The submission of studies on essential oils (stricto sensu) is encouraged, but manuscripts presenting other extraction methods to obtain volatile compounds from plants (e.g., solvent extraction, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, Soxhlet extraction, etc.) will also be critically analyzed and accepted.

Dr. Milena D Vukić
Dr. Andrea Maxia
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • essential oils
  • volatile compounds
  • biological effects

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1092 KiB  
Article
GC/MS Analysis and Protective Effects of Mentha longifolia L. Essential Oil Against Antituberculosis Drug-Induced Organs Toxicity in Wistar Albino Rats
by Usama K. Abdel-Hameed, Abdulaziz S. Abualghaith, Shaza H. Aly, Mohamed Mostafa Soliman, Lamiaa Adnan Munshi, Safia A. A. Mohammed, Omayma A. Eldahshan and Eman A. R. Abdelghffar
Plants 2024, 13(22), 3231; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13223231 - 17 Nov 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1470
Abstract
Mentha longifolia (L.) L., also known as wild mint, is a perennial herbaceous plant that belongs to the Lamiaceae family. This study aimed to investigate the effects of essential oil of M. longifolia (MLEO) on oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in the liver [...] Read more.
Mentha longifolia (L.) L., also known as wild mint, is a perennial herbaceous plant that belongs to the Lamiaceae family. This study aimed to investigate the effects of essential oil of M. longifolia (MLEO) on oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in the liver and kidneys in the context of drug-induced liver injury caused by the anti-TB drugs rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide (INH-RIF-PZA). The chemical composition of MLEO was characterized using GC/MS analysis, which revealed the presence of pulegone, trans-p-menthan-3-one, piperitenone, and β-caryophyllene as its major volatile constituents. An INH/RIF/PZA mixture was administered to Wistar rats for 30 days, and silymarin was administered as a standard drug. MLEO was administered p.o. at doses of 50 mg and 100 mg/kg b.w. Both doses of the MLEO therapy effectively regulated all biochemical indicators of hepatic impairment and reduced the damage caused by the INH/RIF/PZA mixture. It may be deduced that MLEO has the ability to protect organs against INH/RIF/PZA-induced damage and could potentially be a valuable natural remedy for treating anti-TB-induced liver and kidney injuries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils)
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Review

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23 pages, 3358 KiB  
Review
Methods for Determination of Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils In Vitro—A Review
by Radka Hulankova
Plants 2024, 13(19), 2784; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13192784 - 4 Oct 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 9453
Abstract
Essential oils (EOs) have been gaining popularity in the past decades among researchers due to their potential to replace conventional chemicals used in the fight against pests, pathogenic and spoilage microbes, and oxidation processes. EOs are complex mixtures with many chemical components, the [...] Read more.
Essential oils (EOs) have been gaining popularity in the past decades among researchers due to their potential to replace conventional chemicals used in the fight against pests, pathogenic and spoilage microbes, and oxidation processes. EOs are complex mixtures with many chemical components, the content of which depends on many factors—not just the plant genus, species, or subspecies, but also chemotype, locality, climatic conditions, phase of vegetation, method of extraction, and others. Due to this fact, there is still much to study, with antimicrobial effect being one of the key properties of EOs. There are many methods that have been frequently used by researchers for in vitro evaluation; however, although the research has been going on for decades, an internationally accepted standard is still missing. Most of methods are based on time-proven standards used for the testing of antibiotics. Due to the specific properties of EOs and their components, such as volatility and hydrophobicity, many modifications of these standard procedures have been adopted. The aim of this review is to describe the most common methods and their modifications for the testing of antimicrobial properties of EOs and to point out the most controversial variables which can potentially affect results of the assays. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils)
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