Anticancer activity of essential oils: a review

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture Vol. 93; no. 15; pp. 3643 - 3653
• Main Authors: Bhalla, Yashika, Gupta, Vinay Kumar, Jaitak, Vikas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.12.2013; John Wiley and Sons, Limited
• Subjects: anticancer mechanisms; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - therapeutic use; Antioxidants; Antiproliferatives; Cancer; Categories; Constituents; Disease prevention; essential oils; Foods; Herbs; Humans; Modulation; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Nutrition research; Oils & fats; Oils, Volatile - chemistry; Oils, Volatile - pharmacology; Oils, Volatile - therapeutic use; Oncology; Oxygenated; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Plant Oils - chemistry; Plant Oils - pharmacology; Plant Oils - therapeutic use; Plants - chemistry; Surveillance; synergism; terpenes; synergism; essential oils; terpenes; anticancer mechanisms
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.6267

Natural essential oil constituents play an important role in cancer prevention and treatment. Essential oil constituents from aromatic herbs and dietary plants include monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, oxygenated monoterpenes, oxygenated sesquiterpenes and phenolics among others. Various mechanisms such antioxidant, antimutagenic and antiproliferative, enhancement of immune function and surveillance, enzyme induction and enhancing detoxification, modulation of multidrug resistance and synergistic mechanism of volatile constituents are responsible for their chemopreventive properties. This review covers the most recent literature to summarize structural categories and molecular anticancer mechanisms of constituents from aromatic herbs and dietary plants. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry