Review on Bioactive Potential of Indonesian Forest Essential Oils

Abstract

Essential oils are composed of some natural, volatile, as well as aromatic compounds extracted from plants. In recent years, several studies have shown that some of their benefits can be attributed to their antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and also immunomodulatory properties. So, essential oils have been proposed as a common elective to anti-microbials or for utilize in combination with other antimicrobials against multidrug-resistant microscopic organisms. Most of the potential data about essential oils were obtained with in vitro and in vivo studies. Several types of essential oils are available in Indonesia which are reported to have biological activity such as antioxidants and antiaging are essential oils of pine (Pinus merkusii), kilemo (Litsea cubeba), agarwood (Aquilaria spp), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora), and cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmanii). The major chemical compound of pine oil is alpha pinene. Kilemo oil contains geranial. chemical marker compound of agarwood is chromone and sesquiterpenes. Eucalyptus contains citronella. The chemical component of cinnamon oil is cinnamaldehyde. Some essential oils have shown remarkable antioxidant activities when used at specific concentrations which can be due to their richness in phenolic compounds. However, toxicological studies are needed before any recommendation for application can be given. Preformulating and formulation studies will be needed to develop suitable dosage forms in order to introduce optimized pharmaceuticals (high active, low toxic) as alternative of current pharmaceutical dosage forms.