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Separations
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Essential Oils: Extraction, Chemical Composition, and Bioactivities
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Essential Oils: Extraction, Chemical Composition, and Bioactivities

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Analysis of Natural Products and Pharmaceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2024) | Viewed by 1492

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Maja Dent

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: food chemistry; bioactive compounds; innovative extraction technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Antonela Ninčević Grassino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Pierottijeva 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: analytical chemistry; food chemistry; food packaging; waste and by-product valorisation; innovative extraction technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Essential oils are a mixture of volatile compounds such as monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, alcohols, esters, ketones and phenols. Their chemical composition can vary greatly depending on the plant or hydro-distillation process. The aim of this Special Issue is to publish new research on methods for the identification of new sources of essential oils; the development and optimization of more efficient methods for the extraction of essential oils from plant sources, including hydro-distillation, microwave and solvent extraction, and supercritical fluid extraction; and various pretreatments of plants such as ultrasonic or enzymatic extraction prior to the hydro-distillation process. Other topics of interest include optimized and new methods for quality control and sustainable production; and especially various applications in which essential oils can be used, as well as new applications for bioactive molecules in nutraceuticals.

Prof. Dr. Maja Dent
Dr. Antonela Ninčević Grassino
Guest Editors

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. Separations is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • bioactive compounds
  • volatile compounds
  • essential oils
  • hydro-distillation
  • enzymatic extraction
  • ultrasonic extraction
  • plant food waste.

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 385 KiB  
Article
Bioactive Properties of Pentacalia vaccinioides (Kunth) Cuatrec. (Asteraceae) Essential Oils: Evaluation of Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities
by Luis G. Sequeda-Castañeda, María A. Castellanos-Gómez and Carlos L. A. Céspedes-Acuña
Separations 2025, 12(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations12010009 - 5 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1102
Abstract
Essential oils (EOs) have unique properties, such as antibacterial, antioxidant, and antiviral activities, which are beneficial in various industries, including cosmetics, food, and pharmaceuticals. In this study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Pentacalia vaccinioides EOs obtained from leaves and flowers (fresh and [...] Read more.
Essential oils (EOs) have unique properties, such as antibacterial, antioxidant, and antiviral activities, which are beneficial in various industries, including cosmetics, food, and pharmaceuticals. In this study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Pentacalia vaccinioides EOs obtained from leaves and flowers (fresh and dried plant material) were evaluated using hydrodistillation (HD), steam distillation (SD), simultaneous distillation–extraction (SDE), and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) techniques. Antimicrobial activity (minimum inhibitory concentration, MIC) and antioxidant capacity (half-maximal inhibitory concentration, IC50) were determined. The identification and quantification of the compounds present in the EOs were conducted by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main secondary metabolites identified in most samples obtained by different extraction techniques included phenol (~18%), 1S-α-pinene (~15%), β-phellandrene (~13%), β-pinene (~12%), 4-terpineol (~10%), γ-terpinene (~10%), trans-nerolidol (~8%), limonene (~8%), and β-thujene (~6%). EOs obtained by HD, SD, and SDE exhibited antioxidant activity, with IC50 values between 621.7 and 696.6 µg/mL. Additionally, the EOs demonstrated bactericidal activity against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, with MIC values of 5.0 and 45 µg/mL, respectively. Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not show antimicrobial susceptibility to EOs. This study constitutes the first evaluation of Pentacalia vaccinioides EOs, demonstrating their bioactive potential and the relevance of the extraction method. The findings highlight this species as a promising source of natural compounds for therapeutic and preservative applications, depending on the type of plant material and extraction technique used. Future research should investigate how microclimatic conditions and plant development affect the chemical composition and elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind the observed bioactivities to better understand their cellular actions. Furthermore, the evaluation of the applications of EOs and hydrolates in the pharmaceutical and food industries, along with the exploration of the bioactive potential of extraction-derived hydrolates, offers a promising avenue to maximize plant utility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils: Extraction, Chemical Composition, and Bioactivities)
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