Biological Activity of Essential Oils and Extracts
Summary
Essential oils and plant extracts are complex mixtures of volatile and non-volatile secondary metabolites, notably terpenes, phenolics and alkaloids, that underpin a wide array of biological activities. These natural products have been shown to exert antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiparasitic and metabolic-modulating effects. Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes confer membrane-disruptive or enzyme-inhibitory properties, while phenolic compounds often act as radical scavengers and signal-modulators. Advances in formulation, including nanoemulsions, have improved bioavailability and stability, enabling targeted delivery and sustained release. Contemporary research highlights applications ranging from anti-leishmanial therapies and cardiometabolic support to novel antimicrobial agents and in silico prediction of molecular interactions. The global significance of these studies lies in the potential of renewable botanical resources to yield safe, effective alternatives or complements to synthetic pharmaceuticals, with implications for human health, agriculture and veterinary medicine.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Biological Activity of Essential Oils and Extracts publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in biological activity of essential oils and extracts across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Monoterpene: A class of terpenes consisting of two isoprene units (C10) common in essential oils.
Sesquiterpene: A class of terpenes composed of three isoprene units (C15), often bioactive constituents of plant extracts.
Nanoemulsion: A colloidal dispersion of nanoscale droplets used to enhance the solubility and stability of lipophilic compounds.
IC50: Concentration of a substance required to inhibit a biological process by 50%, indicating potency.
Secondary metabolite: A natural compound not directly involved in growth, often mediating plant defence and therapeutic properties.
References
- Volatile Constituents of Some Myrtaceous Edible and Medicinal Fruits from the Brazilian Amazon. Foods (2024).
- Potential Effects of Essential Oil from Plinia cauliflora (Mart.) Kausel on Leishmania: In Vivo, In Vitro, and In Silico Approaches. Microorganisms (2024).
- Chemical Composition, Preliminary Toxicity, and Antioxidant Potential of Piper marginatum Sensu Lato Essential Oils and Molecular Modeling Study. Molecules (2023).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.