Immunomodulatory Activities of Selected Essential Oils

Abstract

Recently, the application of herbal medicine for the prevention and treatment of diseases has gained increasing attention. Essential oils (EOs) are generally known to exert various pharmacological effects, such as antiallergic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects. Current literature involving in vitro and in vivo studies indicates the potential of various herbal essential oils as suitable immunomodulators for the alternative treatment of infectious or immune diseases. This review highlights the cellular effects induced by EOs, as well as the molecular impacts of EOs on cytokines, immunoglobulins, or regulatory pathways. The results reviewed in this article revealed a significant reduction in relevant proinflammatory cytokines, as well as induction of anti-inflammatory markers. Remarkably, very little clinical study data involving the immunomodulatory effects of EOs are available. Furthermore, several studies led to contradictory results, emphasizing the need for a multiapproach system to better characterize EOs. While immunomodulatory effects were reported, the toxic potential of EOs must be clearly considered in order to secure future applications.

Essential Oils in Livestock: From Health to Food Quality

“…Inflammation is a physiological response caused by an infected or injured tissue in the body. Inflammatory processes can: (i) increase the permeability of mucosal endothelial cells and the interstitium’s influx of blood leukocytes, (ii) cause the expression of cell adhesion molecules, such as vascular cell adhesion molecules (VCAM) and intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM), (iii) upregulate the activity of several enzymes (oxygenase, peroxidase, and nitric oxide synthase) and the metabolism of arachidonic acid, and (iv) cause the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines [ 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 ].…”

Antiviral and Virucidal Properties of Essential Oils and Isolated Compounds – A Scientific Approach

“…2) and their oxygenated derivatives (alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, phenols, and oxides) [13,[23][24][25]. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that EOs and many of their individual EOCs exhibit different biological properties, for example, antibacterial [13,23,25], antifungal [13], antiviral [13], antioxidant [26,27], immunomodulatory [28,29], anti-inflammatory [24,27], and wound healing effects [30]. Due to their fat solubility, low molecular weight, and small size, the EOCs are able to pass through the skin, mucosa, and cell membranes and thus enter the systemic body circulation [13,24].…”

Bactericidal And Antioxidant Effects of Domestic Essential Oils On Certain Pathogenic Bacteria.

“…Since antiquity, plants and their metabolites have been used for a variety of purposes in various parts of the world (Sandner et al 2020) The term "essential oil" is derived from the 16th-century Swiss reformer Paracelsus von Hohenheim's term "Quinta essential" (Wińska et al 2019). They are bioactive molecules with antibacterial/antimicrobial, antiviral, anthelmintic, antispasmodic, cytotoxic, insecticidal, anti-in ammatory, sedative, and neuroprotective properties that have all been linked to the commercial applications of EOs as avoring and preservatives in the food and agriculture industries, fragrance additives in the cosmetic industry, and antibacterial/antimicrobial properties in the pharmaceutical industry.…”

“…Out of the 3000 plant species known to contain EOs, only 300 have been reported as commercially viable. Terpenoid mixtures (terpenes, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes), phenylpropenes, avonoids, esters, and unsaturated fats have been linked to the bioactive properties of essential oils (Sandner et al 2020;Greta 2020;Bahr et al 2019;Herman et al 2019). EOs are classi ed according to their extraction method (steam-distilled oils, cold-pressed/expressed oils or solvent-extracted oils) or aroma (citrus oils, herbaceous oils, oral oils, and so on).…”