Essential oils of some medicinal plants and their biological activities: a mini review

Abstract

Medicinal herbs have an essential function in health and therapy. Bioactives of medicinal plants showed fewer side effects than manufactured drugs and their antioxidant properties are responsible for their different therapeutic properties. Essential oils (EOs) are an aromatic mixture of active components with a strong aroma obtained from aromatic plants. Natural EOs are composed of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, oxygenated monoterpenes, oxygenated sesquiterpenes, and phenolics. Because of their volatility, EOs are easily extracted from a variety of natural sources using the steam distillation method. Essential oils are one of the important therapeutic ingredients used in developing new therapeutic vehicles because of their anticancer, antiviral, antidiabetic, anticancer, antibacterial, antioxidant, and aromatherapy capabilities. This review includes different literature to survey the nature of essential oils, therapeutic potentials, and the key components of various essential oils.