Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.7
4.6
Journals
Molecules
Special Issues
The Chemistry of Essential Oils II
molecules-logo
Submit to Molecules Review for Molecules Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

The Chemistry of Essential Oils II

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 1456

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Luca Valgimigli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry “G. Ciamician”, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: antioxidants; radical chemistry; essential oils; organic reaction mechanisms; phytocomponents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Simone Gabbanini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
R&D Department, BeC s.r.l., Via C. Monteverdi 49, 47122 Forlì, Italy
Interests: natural products; essential oils; analysis; extraction; purification

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Essential oils continue to attract major interest in different areas of science and technology. New acquisitions of their biological properties require efforts to underpin their mechanisms at the molecular level; on the other hand, understanding their chemical properties can pave the way to further distinctive applications in the biomedical and other fields. Their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties are being extensively investigated, and are boosting their interest in the food industry as natural preservatives, while other specific properties are promoting their study in human and animal nutrition. They also maintain their importance in the cosmetic industry for their role in perfumery, and the recent discoveries in the functioning and distribution of olfactory receptors inside and outside the nervous system offer new understanding of their structure–activity relationship. Indeed, this has also provided a tremendous stimulus to researchers to carry out vibrant multidisciplinary research aimed at offering for the first time a mechanistic understanding of aromatherapy. Chemodiversity is key to rationalize their properties in these regards. Essential oil components, such as terpenoids, have gained importance as building blocks for the synthesis of novel drugs and the uses of camphor and limonene to obtain multipotent derivatives of cannabidiol represent some examples. Terpenoids and phenylpropanoids are also being investigated as renewable feedstocks in the green chemical industry to replace fossil sources of olefins. At the same time, they serve as templates for bioinspired novel materials.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews on the many aspects of the chemistry of essential oils and their components, including but not limited to their role in drug discovery, in the development of sustainable or bioinspired materials, their role as antioxidants, the aspects related to their analysis and characterization, and advancements in the methods for their extraction.

Prof. Dr. Luca Valgimigli
Guest Editor

Simone Gabbanini
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • essential oils
  • bioactive materials
  • bioinspired drugs
  • aromatherapy
  • sustainable materials
  • extraction and analysis
  • chemodiversity
  • antioxidants

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 3901 KiB  
Article
Photochemical and Oxidative Degradation of Chamazulene Contained in Artemisia, Matricaria and Achillea Essential Oils and Setup of Protection Strategies
by Simone Gabbanini, Jerome Ngwa Neba, Riccardo Matera and Luca Valgimigli
Molecules 2024, 29(11), 2604; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29112604 (registering DOI) - 1 Jun 2024
Abstract
Chamazulene (CA) is an intensely blue molecule with a wealth of biological properties. In cosmetics, chamazulene is exploited as a natural coloring and soothing agent. CA is unstable and tends to spontaneously degrade, accelerated by light. We studied the photodegradation of CA upon [...] Read more.
Chamazulene (CA) is an intensely blue molecule with a wealth of biological properties. In cosmetics, chamazulene is exploited as a natural coloring and soothing agent. CA is unstable and tends to spontaneously degrade, accelerated by light. We studied the photodegradation of CA upon controlled exposure to UVB-UVA irradiation by multiple techniques, including GC-MS, UHPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS and by direct infusion in ESI-MSn, which were matched to in silico mass spectral simulations to identify degradation products. Seven byproducts formed upon UVA exposure for 3 h at 70 mW/cm2 (blue-to-green color change) were identified, including CA dimers and CA benzenoid, which were not found on extended 6 h irradiation (green-to-yellow fading). Photostability tests with reduced irradiance conducted in various solvents in the presence/absence of air indicated highest degradation in acetonitrile in the presence of oxygen, suggesting a photo-oxidative mechanism. Testing in the presence of antioxidants (tocopherol, ascorbyl palmitate, hydroxytyrosol, bakuchiol, γ-terpinene, TEMPO and their combinations) indicated the highest protection by tocopherol and TEMPO. Sunscreens ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and particularly Tinosorb® S (but not octocrylene) showed good CA photoprotection. Thermal stability tests indicated no degradation of CA in acetonitrile at 50 °C in the dark for 50 days; however, accelerated degradation occurred in the presence of ascorbyl palmitate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Chemistry of Essential Oils II)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

13 pages, 1819 KiB  
Article
Impact of Various Essential Oils on the Development of Pathogens of the Fusarium Genus and on Health and Germination Parameters of Winter Wheat and Maize
by Jakub Danielewicz, Monika Grzanka, Łukasz Sobiech, Ewa Jajor, Joanna Horoszkiewicz, Marek Korbas, Andrzej Blecharczyk, Kinga Stuper-Szablewska and Kinga Matysiak
Molecules 2024, 29(10), 2376; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29102376 - 18 May 2024
Viewed by 382
Abstract
Currently, researchers are looking for ways to replace synthetic pesticides with substances of natural origin. Essential oils are produced by plants, among other things, to protect against pathogens, which is why there is interest in their use as fungicides. This experiment assessed the [...] Read more.
Currently, researchers are looking for ways to replace synthetic pesticides with substances of natural origin. Essential oils are produced by plants, among other things, to protect against pathogens, which is why there is interest in their use as fungicides. This experiment assessed the composition of essential oils from a commercial source, their impact on the development of mycelium of pathogens of the Fusarium genus, and the possibility of using them as a pre-sowing treatment. Grains of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) were inoculated with a suspension of mycelium and spores of fungi of the Fusarium genus and then soaked in solutions containing oils of sage (Salvia officinalis L.), cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.), cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.). The obtained results indicate that thyme essential oil had the strongest effect on limiting the development of Fusarium pathogens and seedling infection, but at the same time it had an adverse effect on the level of germination and seedling development of the tested plants. The remaining essential oils influenced the mentioned parameters to varying degrees. Selected essential oils can be an alternative to synthetic fungicides, but they must be selected appropriately. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Chemistry of Essential Oils II)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 945 KiB  
Article
Antimicrobial Activity of Individual Volatile Compounds from Various Essential Oils
by Adriana Brandes, Mareshah Dunning and Jeffrey Langland
Molecules 2024, 29(8), 1811; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29081811 - 16 Apr 2024
Viewed by 708
Abstract
Interest in natural remedies has grown recently due to a variety of public health concerns such as microbial antibiotic resistance. This global health concern necessitates innovative approaches to combat bacterial infections. Building upon established therapeutic uses of essential oils, this research focused on [...] Read more.
Interest in natural remedies has grown recently due to a variety of public health concerns such as microbial antibiotic resistance. This global health concern necessitates innovative approaches to combat bacterial infections. Building upon established therapeutic uses of essential oils, this research focused on the volatile constituents of essential oils. The volatile antimicrobial activity of these constituents was studied by employing a derivative of a modified disk diffusion assay for quantitative comparisons. This study emphasizes the significance and value of exploring natural compounds as alternatives to traditional antibiotics and provides insights into their mechanisms and applications in contending with bacterial pathogens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Chemistry of Essential Oils II)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop