title: Essential oils and their constituents as anticancer agents: a mechanistic view.
abstract: Exploring natural plant products as an option to find new chemical entities as anticancer agents is one of the fastest growing areas of research. Recently, in the last decade, essential oils (EOs) have been under study for their use in cancer therapy and the present review is an attempt to collect and document the available studies indicating EOs and their constituents as anticancer agents. This review enlists nearly 130 studies of EOs from various plant species and their constituents that have been studied so far for their anticancer potential and these studies have been classified as in vitro and in vivo studies for EOs and their constituents. This review also highlights in-depth various mechanisms of action of different EOs and their constituents reported in the treatment strategies for different types of cancer. The current review indicates that EOs and their constituents act by multiple pathways and mechanisms involving apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, antimetastatic and antiangiogenic, increased levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), DNA repair modulation, and others to demonstrate their antiproliferative activity in the cancer cell. The effect of EOs and their constituents on tumour suppressor proteins (p53 and Akt), transcription factors (NF- κB and AP-1), MAPK-pathway, and detoxification enzymes like SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase has also been discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Science and Technology, School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab 151001, India.
authors.forename: Nandini
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2784-3441
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gautam
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biosciences, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab 151001, India.
authors.forename: Anil K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Mantha
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Science and Technology, School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab 151001, India.
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6060-5982
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mittal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple / Q000187:drug effects; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile