Bioactivity of essential oils and their volatile aroma components: Review

The bioactivity of essential oils and their flavor and fragrance components have been known since ancient times. Essential oils are a mixture of numerous compounds characterized by an essence of aromatic plants. Currently, approximately 3000 essential oils are known, 300 of which are commercially important, in particular for the pharmaceutical, food, household and cosmetic industries. Essential oils have been known to have various bioactivities including antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic, and antioxidant as well as other miscellaneous activities. Consequently, studies on the biological activities of essential oils have become increasingly important in the search for natural and safe alternative medicines in recent years. This review discusses various biological activities of essential oils and their components that have been reported in scientific references.