Sharma Mansi, Grewal Kamaljit, Jandrotia Rupali, Batish Daizy Rani, Singh Harminder Pal, Kohli Ravinder Kumar
Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India.
Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2022 Feb;146:112514. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.112514. Epub 2021 Dec 25.
Cancer retains a central place in fatality rates among the wide variety of diseases known world over, and the conventional synthetic medicaments, albeit used until now, produce numerous side effects. As a result, newer, better, and safer alternatives such as natural plant products, are gravely required. Essential oils (EOs) offer a plethora of bioactivities including antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anticancer properties, therefore, the use of EOs in combination with synthetic drugs or aromatherapy continues to be popular in many settings. In view of the paramount importance of EOs and their potential bioactivities, this review summarizes the current knowledge on the interconnection between EOs and cancer treatment. In particular, the current review presents an updated summary of the chemical composition of EOs, their current applications in cancer treatments based on clinical studies, and the mechanism of action against the cancer cell lines. Similarly, an overview of using EOs in aromatherapy and enhancing immunity during cancer treatment is provided. Further, this review focuses on the recent technological advancements such as the loading of EOs using protein microspheres, ligands, or nanoemulsions/nanoencapsulation, which offer multiple benefits in cancer treatment via site-specific and target-oriented delivery of drugs. The continuing clinical studies of EOs implicate that their pharmacological applications are a rewarding research area.
在全球已知的各类疾病中，癌症在死亡率方面一直占据核心位置，而传统的合成药物尽管至今仍在使用，但会产生诸多副作用。因此，迫切需要更新颖、更优质且更安全的替代品，比如天然植物产品。精油具有多种生物活性，包括抗菌、抗病毒、抗氧化和抗癌特性，所以，精油与合成药物联合使用或用于芳香疗法在许多情况下仍然很受欢迎。鉴于精油及其潜在生物活性的至关重要性，本综述总结了目前关于精油与癌症治疗之间相互关系的知识。特别是，当前综述提供了精油化学成分的最新总结、基于临床研究的精油在癌症治疗中的当前应用，以及针对癌细胞系的作用机制。同样，还概述了精油在芳香疗法中的应用以及在癌症治疗期间增强免疫力的情况。此外，本综述重点关注了近期的技术进展，例如使用蛋白质微球、配体或纳米乳液/纳米封装来负载精油，这些技术通过药物的位点特异性和靶向递送在癌症治疗中提供了多重益处。对精油的持续临床研究表明，其药理学应用是一个值得探索的研究领域。
