Active Essential Oils and Their Components in Use against Neglected Diseases and Arboviruses

Abstract

The termneglected diseasesrefers to a group of infections caused by various classes of pathogens, including protozoa, viruses, bacteria, and helminths, most often affecting impoverished populations without adequate sanitation living in close contact with infectious vectors and domestic animals. The fact that these diseases were historically not considered priorities for pharmaceutical companies made the available treatments options obsolete, precarious, outdated, and in some cases nonexistent. The use of plants for medicinal, religious, and cosmetic purposes has a history dating back to the emergence of humanity. One of the principal fractions of chemical substances found in plants are essential oils (EOs). EOs consist of a mixture of volatile and hydrophobic secondary metabolites with marked odors, composed primarily of terpenes and phenylpropanoids. They have great commercial value and were widely used in traditional medicine, by phytotherapy practitioners, and in public health services for the treatment of several conditions, including neglected diseases. In addition to the recognized cytoprotective and antioxidative activities of many of these compounds, larvicidal, insecticidal, and antiparasitic activities have been associated with the induction of oxidative stress in parasites, increasing levels of nitric oxide in the infected host, reducing parasite resistance to reactive oxygen species, and increasing lipid peroxidation, ultimately leading to serious damage to cell membranes. The hydrophobicity of these compounds also allows them to cross the membranes of parasites as well as the blood-brain barrier, collaborating in combat at the second stage of several of these infections. Based on these considerations, the aim of this review was to present an update of the potential of EOs, their fractions, and their chemical constituents, against some neglected diseases, including American and African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, and arboviruses, specially dengue.

Antifungal Activity of Essential Oil and Main Components from Mentha pulegium Growing Wild on the Chilean Central Coast

“…In general, the results of the inhibitory effect of Mentha pulegium oil is consistent with previous reports on the antifungal activity of essential oils, which showed that the inhibitory effects of essential oils tend to increase according to their major component as follows: phenols > alcohols > aldehydes > ketones > ethers > hydrocarbons [24]. Numerous literature studies have provided support for the antimicrobial activities of several of the compounds in Mentha pulegium oil [25]. For instance, terpene alcohols (isopulegol and menthol) have shown greater inhibition of mycelial growth than have terpene ketones (menthone and pulegone) against both pathogens.…”

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, phytochemical screening and antiprotozoal effects of the methanolic Viola tricolor and acetonic Laurus nobilis extracts

“…Moreover, Charma et al [48] documented the antileishmanial effect of cinnamaldehyde and eugenol with IC 50 values of 0.681 and 1.426 g/ml, respectively. Eucalyptol and caryophyllene showed antitrypanosomal and antileishmanial activities, respectively [49]. Therefore, we hypothesized that eucalyptol, caryophyllene, cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, methyleugenol, and costunolide are the main active compounds responsible for the antipiroplasmic activity of MEVT and AELN.…”

Antiprotozoal Activity of Turkish Origanum onites Essential Oil and Its Components

“…The antimicrobial activity of essential oils and their components has long been recognized, and has continued to receive research interest in recent years. In comparison to numerous antibacterial or antifungal activity screening studies, little work has been done to assess the potential of volatile oils and their individual constituents for treatment of endo- or ectoparasites [12,23]. Essential oils of a few Origanum species have been reported to exhibit antiparasitic activities against human or animal parasites.…”