Biological properties of essential oils and volatiles: Sources of variability

Yıl 2017, Cilt: 4 Sayı: 4, 1 - 13, 29.12.2017

A. Cristina Figueiredo

Öz

Essential oils are a specific type of extracts that result either from hydro-, steam- or dry-distillation from any part of a duly identified
botanical species, or by a mechanical process without heating, called expression, from the epicarp of Citrus fruit species. Any other
type of extraction may provide a more, or less, volatiles-rich extract, but it is not an essential oil. Essential oils, per se, do not exist in
the plant, since they result from a specific extraction procedure. In the plant there is a wide array of metabolites, only some of which
will be extracted in the form of an essential oil, with variable composition even if just considering that they can either be obtained
by distillation or expression. Man has used for long, both volatiles and essential oils, for a wide range of purposes in the
pharmaceutical, food, beverage, cosmetic and perfumery industries, among others. The described biological activities of volatiles and
essential oils are wide, but the results are not always congruent. Awareness of the factors that may influence the essential oil chemical
variability and ultimately its biological activity, efficacy and safety, are thus very important. These comprise, a) the knowledge on the
difference between plant volatiles and essential oils, b) the avoidance of botanical misidentification, c) getting information on plant
parts chemical composition variability, the existence of chemotypes and essential oil components enantiomers, and also f) exploring
different biological activity assay conditions, which was reviewed in this present work.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Essential oils, volatiles, biological properties

Kaynakça

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