Chapter 36 - Bioactivity of essential oils and its medicinal applications

Abstract

In terms of evolutionary theory, the secondary metabolism of plants was a major contributor to the plant kingdom's successful colonization of terrestrial habitats. In point of fact, secondary metabolites establish a connection between plants and the environment in which they live. Essential oils are complex blends of hydrocarbons and their oxygenated derivatives derived from two distinct isoprenoid pathways. Essential oils are produced by glandular trichomes and other secretory structures, which are specialized secretory tissues that are primarily diffused onto the surface of plant organs, particularly flowers and leaves, and thus play an important ecological role in plants. Furthermore, due to their biological activities, essential oils have been used in many different traditional healing systems all over the world since ancient times. Many preclinical studies have documented essential oils' antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities in a variety of cell and animal models, as well as elucidating their mechanism of action and pharmacological targets; however, the scarcity of human studies limits essential oils' potential as effective and safe phytotherapeutic agents. This chapter discusses essential oils from the point of view of both plants and humans. The primary focus is on the vital function that essential oils play in plant chemoecology, as well as their importance as a source of bioactive phytochemicals and phytotherapeutics for humans.