Essential oils and their volatile constituents are used widely to prevent and treat human disease. The possible role and mode of action of these natural products is discussed with regard to the prevention and treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases including atherosclerosis and thrombosis, as well as their bioactivity as antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidants and antidiabetic agents. Their application as natural skin penetration enhancers for transdermal drug delivery and the therapeutic properties of essential oils in aroma and massage therapy will also be outlined.

The vapors of peppermint oil and two of its major constituents (menthol and menthone), and sweet basil oil and two of its major constituents (linalool and eugenol), were tested against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.), Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenb. exFr.) Vuill and Mucor sp. (Fisher) in a closed system. These fungi cause deterioration and heavy decay of peach fruit during marketing, shipping and storage. The essential oils, their major individual aroma constituents and blends of the major individual constituents at different ratios inhibited the growth of the fungi in a dose-dependent manner. Menthol was found to be the individual aroma constituent responsible for the antifungal properties of peppermint essential oil, while menthone alone did not show any effect at all doses. In the case of basil oil, linalool alone showed a moderate antifungal activity while eugenol showed no activity at all. Mixing the two components in a ratio similar to their concentrations in the original oil was found to enhance the antifungal properties of basil oil indicating a synergistic effect.

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Wheat flour was substituted with soy protein isolate (SPI) at levels of 0-20% and its effect on aroma volatiles and quality of cookies was evaluated. The chemical analysis showed that the moisture and protein content increased gradually by increasing the added levels of SPI whereas the carbohydrate and fat levels showed the opposite trend. The sensory characteristics, aroma, taste, crispiness and overall acceptability showed significant (P < 0.05) increase of up to 10% SPI substitution compared with cookies free of SPI. The gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis of aroma volatiles revealed that the sample containing 10% SPI had the highest yield (13.57%) of pyranones, the key odourants of cookies. The results of GC-MS analysis were consistent with those of the aroma sensory analysis of cookies during storage.

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