Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Dec 16;27(24):8999.
doi: 10.3390/molecules27248999.

Applications of Essential Oils and Plant Extracts in Different Industries

Parisa Bolouri  1   2 , Robab Salami  3 , Shaghayegh Kouhi  4 , Masoumeh Kordi  3 , Behnam Asgari Lajayer  5 , Javad Hadian  6 , Tess Astatkie  7
Affiliations
Review

Applications of Essential Oils and Plant Extracts in Different Industries

Parisa Bolouri et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Essential oils (EOs) and plant extracts are sources of beneficial chemical compounds that have potential applications in medicine, food, cosmetics, and the agriculture industry. Plant medicines were the only option for preventing and treating mankind's diseases for centuries. Therefore, plant products are fundamental sources for producing natural drugs. The extraction of the EOs is the first important step in preparing these compounds. Modern extraction methods are effective in the efficient development of these compounds. Moreover, the compounds extracted from plants have natural antimicrobial activity against many spoilage and disease-causing bacteria. Also, the use of plant compounds in cosmetics and hygiene products, in addition to their high marketability, has been helpful for many beauty problems. On the other hand, the agricultural industry has recently shifted more from conventional production systems to authenticated organic production systems, as consumers prefer products without any pesticide and herbicide residues, and certified organic products command higher prices. EOs and plant extracts can be utilized as ingredients in plant antipathogens, biopesticides, and bioherbicides for the agricultural sector. Considering the need and the importance of using EOs and plant extracts in pharmaceutical and other industries, this review paper outlines the different aspects of the applications of these compounds in various sectors.

Keywords: essential oils; extraction; natural antimicrobial; plant extracts.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Classification of the active ingredients of medicinal plants (modified from Sidhu [10]).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Various types of the mechanisms of the activities of EOs on microorganisms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jain P.L., Patel S.R., Desai M.A. Patchouli oil: An overview on extraction method, composition and biological activities. J. Essent. Oil Res. 2022;34:1–11. doi: 10.1080/10412905.2021.1955761. - DOI
    1. Amirifar A., Hemati A., Asgari Lajayer B., Pandey J., Astatkie T. Impact of various environmental factors on the biosynthesis of alkaloids in medicinal plants. In: Aftab T., editor. Environmental Challenges and Medicinal Plants. Springer; Cham, Switzerland: 2022. pp. 229–248. - DOI
    1. Asgari Lajayer B., Ghorbanpour M., Nikabadi S. Heavy metals in contaminated environment: Destiny of secondary metabolite biosynthesis, oxidative status and phytoextraction in medicinal plants. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 2017;145:377–390. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.07.035. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Khodaei N., Nguyen M.M., Mdimagh A., Bayen S., Karboune S. Compositional diversity and antioxidant properties of essential oils: Predictive models. LWT. 2021;138:110684. doi: 10.1016/j.lwt.2020.110684. - DOI
    1. Samadi S., Asgari Lajayer B., Moghiseh E., Rodríguez-Couto S. Effect of carbon nanomaterials on cell toxicity, biomass production, nutritional and active compound accumulation in plants. Environ. Technol. Innov. 2021;21:101323. doi: 10.1016/j.eti.2020.101323. - DOI