review · Pharmaceuticals
Essential oils and their bioactive compounds derived from plants demonstrate potent anticancer activity across both laboratory cell cultures and animal models. Despite these encouraging results, the exact biological mechanisms through which these natural substances counter tumour growth remain insufficiently understood. Transforming essential oils into viable pharmaceutical treatments faces notable technical hurdles. Effective clinical application demands precise pharmacodynamic specificity, high selectivity towards cancer cells rather than healthy tissue, and suitable formulation systems to enable effective administration. A comprehensive assessment of recent experimental studies highlights current progress while identifying critical gaps in safety and efficacy data. Continued targeted research is necessary to unravel these underlying mechanisms and address delivery challenges before plant-derived compounds can contribute directly to novel cancer therapies.
Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality globally, driving the search for effective therapies. Exploring natural substances such as plant-derived essential oils provides fresh therapeutic avenues. Clarifying how these compounds work and establishing their safety and delivery parameters are crucial steps toward discovering whether nature-derived elements can support future cancer care.
This work informs early-stage pharmaceutical research and drug development teams investigating plant-derived compounds. Potential applications centre on novel oncology formulations and therapeutic drugs. However, practical application remains at an early discovery stage, as critical challenges surrounding delivery formulation, selective pharmacodynamics, and verified safety profiles must be resolved through further research before clinical translation is viable.
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Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, affecting millions of people each year. Fortunately, the last decades have been marked by considerable advances in the field of cancer therapy. Researchers have discovered many natural substances, some of which are isolated from plants that have promising anti-tumor activity. Among these, essential oils (EOs) and their constituents have been widely studied and shown potent anticancer activities, both in vitro and in vivo. However, despite the promising results, the precise mechanisms of action of EOs and their bioactive compounds are still poorly understood. Further research is needed to better understand these mechanisms, as well as their effectiveness and safety in use. Furthermore, the use of EOs as anticancer drugs is complex, as it requires absolute pharmacodynamic specificity and selectivity, as well as an appropriate formulation for effective administration. In this study, we present a synthesis of recent work on the mechanisms of anticancer action of EOs and their bioactive compounds, examining the results of various in vitro and in vivo studies. We also review future research prospects in this exciting field, as well as potential implications for the development of new cancer drugs.
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DOI: 10.3390/ph16081086
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