v
Search
Advanced Search

Publications > Journals > Future Integrative Medicine > Article Full Text

  • Review Article
  • OPEN ACCESS

Biological, Functional and Network Pharmacological Exploration of Essential Oils in Treatment and Healthcare of Human Diseases

  • Yudong Zhang1,#,
  • Jiawei Tang2,#,
  • Qinghua Liu3,#,
  • Jinming Ge4,
  • Zhangwen Ma5,
  • Jingyi Mou1 and
  • Liang Wang6,* 
 Author information
Future Integrative Medicine   2023;2(1):23-31

doi: 10.14218/FIM.2022.00038

Abstract

Essential oils (EOs) are natural products with bioactive functions that are obtained from various plant species, including Lavandula angustifolia and plant parts, through extraction methods, such as hydro-distillation, steam distillation and cold pressing, which can be dated back to ancient Egyptian and Greek times. Although various EOs are effective for disease treatment, such as human infectious diseases and mental disorders, the specific pharmacological mechanisms remain unclear due to its complex composition. Previous studies have attempted to recruit pharmaceutical analysis techniques, such as HPLC and MALDI-TOF, in order to elucidate the compositions of EOs. However, these have provided limited information on the mechanism of the bioactive functions of EOs. In recent years, network pharmacology has emerged as a convenient and appropriate approach to study the molecular mechanism of traditional medicines. To date, there is a lack of updated reviews on the recent progress of network pharmacology in the field of interactions between EOs and human diseases. Therefore, the present study scrutinized recent and important literatures in the field of network pharmacology and EOs, aiming to provide a timely yet brief overview of EOs as a potential treatment for diseases via network pharmacology, and facilitating the application of EOs as a complementary medicine and therapy for human diseases.

Keywords

Essential oils, Network pharmacology, Infectious disease, Chronic Disease, Mental disorder

Introduction

Essential oils (EOs), which are also known as volatile oils, are volatile aromatic compounds extracted from flowers, leaves, seeds, roots and other parts of plants,1 which are biologically active natural products. The composition of EOs usually contain terpenes, aldehydes, esters, alcohols, polyphenols and other compounds.1–3 Common EOs originate from medicinal plants in traditional medicine and aromatic plants in nature, such as lavender, lemon, tea tree, rose, orange, frankincense, myrrh and mint. EOs are usually added to various skin care products and ointments, and are widely used in perfumes and aromatherapy.4,5 Furthermore, various studies have reported that EOs have good effects in relieving stress,5 improving mental disorders,6 anti-viral infection,7 anti-inflammation,8 bacterial sterilization,9 anti-diabetes,10 anticancer,11 and so on. However, the mechanism of action of EOs in the treatment of these diseases has not been fully elucidated, because EOs have complex compositions, and there may be synergistic or antagonistic effects among these components.7 Therefore, it remains difficult to fully dissect the mechanisms of EOs in the treatment or remission of a variety of human diseases using traditional techniques and methodologies.

Network pharmacology investigates the functions of multi-component drugs in an overall perspective, which systematically and comprehensively sheds light on the mechanism of the drug treatment of a particular disease.12 Therefore, network pharmacology has been widely applied in the field of traditional Chinese medicine,13 such as the research and development of new drugs, and the exploration of recipe mechanisms.14–16 In terms of the pharmacological functions of EOs, network pharmacology can provide novel insights and strategies for the in-depth understanding of EOs and its mechanism in treating or alleviating diseases, providing theoretical results for further experimental verifications. The present mini-review focused on the components and functions of EOs, the application of EOs for the alternative or adjuvant treatment of human diseases, and the exploration of EOs in the treatment of human diseases and its mechanisms via network pharmacology, in order to provide reference for further EO studies.

Applications of EOs in the treatment of human diseases

EOs are a class of complex plant secondary metabolites,1 which contain a variety of bioactive components. Different components in EOs have versatile functions in plants, such as defense against various predators and the inhibition of infection of pathogenic microorganisms.1 These components have the characteristics of small molecular weight, strong penetration, and easy absorption by the human body.3 Furthermore, these have important and effective roles in anti-infection, the alleviation of chronic diseases, and the improvement of poor mental disorders, and have a wide range of application prospects in the pharmaceutical industry for drug discovery, design and development. The schematic illustration of the applications of EOs in human diseases is shown in Figure 1.

Schematic illustration of the applications of essential oils in human diseases.
Fig. 1  Schematic illustration of the applications of essential oils in human diseases.

Anti-infection effects of EOs

Infectious diseases are usually caused by microbes, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and nematodes. It has been reported that EOs exhibit the properties of significantly inhibiting various microbial pathogens. For example, Origanum vulgare (Oregano) EO has good inhibitory effects on common pathogens and fungi, such as Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella, based on the broth microdilution method.9 Furthermore, the results of in vivo and in vitro studies have revealed that EOs, such as Artemisia annua,17Vernonia polyanthes Less (Asteraceae),18Chenopodium ambrosioides19 and Piper Species,20 can kill Leishmania, which is a single-celled parasitic organism that belongs to the genus trypanosomes, and is responsible for the disease, leishmaniasis. In addition, the EOs of Piper Species20 and Eucalyptus21 can inhibit the growth and reproduction of tuberculosis-causing bacteria in in vitro antibacterial experiments. Moreover, Eucalyptus EO has antiviral activity,7 and peppermint EO has been shown to inhibit herpes simplex virus in vitro.22 The above-mentioned evidence confirms that EOs have potential clinical values in the prevention, control and treatment of infectious diseases.

In addition, in silico investigation has been adopted to explore the potential functions of EO components in the treatment of emerging infectious diseases. A total of 171 EO components were selected for the computer-aided molecular docking analysis,23 and the compound with the highest docking score with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro was sesquiterpene hydrocarbon (E)-β-farnesene.8,24,25 Therefore, the antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties of EOs and its components can be used as a reference for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. With the emergence of resistance to antibiotics and antiviral drugs in clinical treatment, interests in the application of EOs in anti-infection is increasing in a fast pace. Since EOs are natural and relatively safe, these can act as good substitutes for chemically synthesized antibiotics in the future.

The role of EOs in alleviating chronic diseases

Chronic diseases usually cannot be completely cured, and the long course of the disease would cause irreversible damage to important organs, such as the brain, heart and kidney, which can seriously endanger human health. For example, chronic diseases, such as cerebrovascular diseases and malignant tumors, have become the main causes of death worldwide.26,27 In a series of studies, researchers have found that EOs and its corresponding components hold the potential in reducing blood pressure,28–32 regulating blood glucose10,33 and inhibiting tumor development,11,34–37 thereby imposing positive effects on the improvement of chronic diseases.

Anti-hypertensive effect of EOs

Various EOs have been reported to have the function of regulating blood pressure through different pharmacological mechanisms. In a clinical trial that recruited 83 pre-hypertensive and hypertensive subjects, it was revealed that inhaling an EO mixture of lavender, ylang-ylang, marjoram and neroli at a ratio of 20:15:10:2 can effectively relieve systolic blood pressure in patients.28 In other studies, using the rat aortic ring model, it was revealed that EOs obtained from Alpinia Zerumbet29 and Trachyspermum ammi Sprague32 can directly dilate blood vessels and lower blood pressure through the inhibition of calcium influx by acting on calcium channels with independence on endothelial cells. However, the EOs of Ocimum gratissimum L. and its main component, eugenol, were found to have vasodilation effects by inhibiting the influx of Ca2+ in the plasma membrane through the use of the aortic ring model of DOCA-salt hypertensive rats, which depended on the integrity of the vascular endothelium.30 Overall, although these above-mentioned EOs exhibit different mechanisms for reducing hypertension, these findings highlight the potential applications of EOs as an alternative therapy in anti-hypertensive treatment.

Anti-diabetes effect of EOs

A variety of EOs can improve and control diabetes by regulating blood sugar. Both in vivo and in vitro studies have reported that the EO of Salvia officinalis L. can significantly inhibit the activity of α-amylase and lipase, thereby reducing the blood glucose concentration and liver glycogen content in male rats with diabetes induced by Alloxan.10 The important chemical components contained in Salvia officinalis L. can be orally administered under the supervision of doctors, and may be a potentially valuable supplement for the treatment of diabetes in the future. Furthermore, the clinical-randomized controlled trial conducted by Shojaei et al., and the results of the population study conducted by the Zabol Diabetes Center revealed that the EO of Rhubarb stem (shoot) can effectively reduce the HbA1c level and fasting blood glucose in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus.33 Interestingly, some EOs have good therapeutic and preventive effects on both hypertension and diabetes. For example, Oboh et al. reported the mechanism by which black pepper EO controls and/or prevents type-2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which may be due to the inhibition of α-amylase, α-glucosidase and angiotensin converting enzyme activities through the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the extract.38,39 Based on the above-mentioned studies, it can be implied that EOs hold a potential as a reservoir for the design and development for anti-diabetic drugs.

Anti-tumor effect of EOs

Some EOs have been reported to have biological activities in cancer treatment. For example, Greay et al. applied 10% of the topical melaleuca white (tea tree) oil abundant in terpenes to immunocompetent tumor-bearing mice. They found that tea tree oil can significantly inhibit the growth of invasive, subcutaneous and chemo-resistant tumors in mice, and has antitumor activity in vivo.34 Frankincense EO35 and Thymus vulgaris L. EO11 were also identified to induce the apoptosis of tumor cells in in vivo and in vitro breast cancer models. Xing et al. reported that EOs obtained from the leaves of Erythrina corallodendron L. can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner.36 Furthermore, a study reported that cinnamaldehyde can inhibit cell growth by inducing apoptosis and reversing the epithelial mesenchymal transition by terminating the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway.37 All these findings suggest that certain types of EOs should deserve further investigation as adjuvant drugs for treating cancer migration and invasion.

The role of EOs in alleviating mental disorders

EOs usually contains a variety of small aromatic compounds. Some of these are liposoluble, and can easily cross the blood-brain barrier,40 acting on the central nervous system.6 Furthermore, studies have revealed that EOs exhibit promising effects in the adjuvant treatment of emotional disorders, such as depression and anxiety, as well as insomnia. Hence, the proper and rational use of EOs can effectively relieve the discomfort caused by anxiety, and significantly improve psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety (Table 1).6–8,10,17,18,20,21,30–32,34,36–38,40–53 Clinical trials have revealed that Lasea, the commercial product of lavender EO, can effectively relieve the anxiety level and insomnia disorder of patients with depression.6 Lasea is orally administered through 80 mg soft gelatin capsules, which is based on the extract of lavender, and mainly includes aloes and linalool acetate. In addition, Lehrner54 and McCaffrey55 reported that lavender, orange and rosemary EOs have good effects on anxiety in patients and volunteer participants. At present, the drugs used to treat insomnia usually have different degrees of side effects, as well as problems on drug dependence or resistance. The treatment of insomnia by EO aromatherapy can achieve the effect of improving sleep quality, and this can also be easily accepted by patients.56,57 A randomized cross-controlled clinical trial revealed that the inhalation of lavender EO can significantly improve the sleep quality, quality of daily life, and mood, of patients with insomnia and diabetes.58

Table 1

Summary of bioactive functions of essential oils in human diseases

CategoryDiseasesEssential oilsPlant information (plant parts)Main compoundsRefs.
Infectious diseasesVirus infection: 1. Yellow fever virus; 2. Herpes simplex virus; 3. Zika; 4. COVID-191. Lippia citriodora; 2. Aloysia triphylla; 3. Ayapana triplinervis; 4. Eucalyptus1. Verbenaceae (not applicable); 2. Verbenaceae (leaves); 3. Asteraceae (aerial parts); 4. Myrtaceae (aerial parts)1. Geranial, Neral, Limonene; 2. α-Tujone, cis-carveol, carvone, limonene; 3. Thymohydroquinone dimethyl ether; 4. 1,8-cineole, jensenone1-44; 2-45; 3-46; 4-8
Bacterial Infection: Tuberculosis1. Piper.diospyrifolium, Piper.aduncum; 2. Klonemax™ (Eucalyptus)1. Piperaceae, Piper L. specie, (leaves); 2. Myrtaceae, (not applicable)1. α-thujene, α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene, β-phellandrene, safrole, δ-elemene, β-elemene, γ-elemene, α-humulene, dehydro-aromadendrene, trans-cadina-1(6), 4-diene, γ-gurjunene, bicyclogermacrene, (Z)-α-bisabolene, δ-cadinene, spathulenol, caryophyllene oxide, humulene epoxide II, epi-1-cubenol, epi-α-muurolol and α-muurolol; 2. 1,8-cineole1-20; 2-21
Fungal Infection: 1. Dermatophytes; 2. Candidiasis; 3. Skin fungal infections1. Artemisia sieberi Besser (Lotion 10%, twice daily for two weeks); 2. Eucalyptus; 3. Myrrh1. Compositae family (aerial parts); 2. Myrtaceae, odorata specie, (leaves); 3. Burseraceae family (aerial parts)1. α-thujones, β-thujones; 2. 1,8-cineole; 3. Furanoeudesma, 1,3-diene, menthofuran1-47; 2-7; 3-48
Protozoan Infection: Leishmaniasis1. Artemisia annua leaves; 2. Vernonia polyanthes Less1. Asteraceae (leaves); 2. Asteraceae (leaves)1. Camphor; 2. Zerumbone1-17; 2-18
Chronic diseasesDiabetes1. Salvia officinalis L.; 2. Piper guineense; 3. Clausena Harmandiana, Clausena Guillauminii, Clausena excavata1. Lamiaceae (leaves); 2. Ashanti black pepper (all); 3. Citrus family, Clausena specie (leaves)1. Oxygenated monoterpenes, Hydrocarbon monoterpenes, Hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes; 2. α -Pinene, β-pinene, cis-ocimene, myrcene, Alloocimene, 1,8-cineole; 3. Seselin, terpinen-4-ol1-10; 2-38; 3-49
Hypertension1. Trachyspermum ammi; 2. Ocimum gratissimum L.; 3. Alpinia zerumbet; 4. Piper guineense; 5. Aniba rosaeodora1. Apiaceae (seeds); 2. Labiatae (aerial parts); 3. Zingiberaceae (aerial parts); 4. Ashanti black peper (all); 5. Lauraceae (trunk)1. Thymol, gamma-terpinene, p-cymene; 2. Eugenol; 3. 1,8-Cineole; 4. α -Pinene, β -pinene, cis-ocimene, myrcene, alloocimene, 1,8-cineole; 5. Linalool1-32; 2-30; 3-31; 4-38; 5-50
Tumor: 1. AE17 mesotheliomas and B16-F10 melanomas; 2. Breast cancer; 3. Non-small cell lung cancer1. Melaleuca alternifolia; 2. Erythrina corallodendron L. leaves; 3. Cinnamomum cassia1. Myrtaceae (leaves); 2. Erythrina genus (leaves); 3. Lauraceae (not applicable)1. Terpenes; 2. Linalool; 3. Cinnamaldehyde1-34; 2-36; 3-37
Mental disordersAnxiety1. Lasea™ (Lavender); 2. Pelargonium roseum1. Labiatae family (flowers); 2. Geraniaceae family (leaves)1. Linalool, linalyl acetate, 1.8-cineole, β-ocimene, terpinen-4-ol and camphor; 2. Monoterpene alcohols citronellol and geraniol1-6; 2-40
Depression1.Lasea™ (Lavender); 2.Reunion Geranium; 3.Toona ciliata Roem. var. yunnanensis1. Labiatae family [flowers]; 2. Geraniaceae family[leaves]; 3. Meliaceae family[leaves]1. Linalool, linalyl acetate, 1.8-cineole, β-ocimene, terpinen-4-ol, camphor; 2. Monoterpene alcohols citronellol, geraniol; 3. Estragole, β-elemene, β-cubebene, γ-elemene1-6; 2-40; 3-51
Insomnia1.Lasea™ (Lavender); 2. Compound Anshen EO (Lavender, Sweet orange, Sandalwood, Frankincense, Orange blossom, Rose, Agarwood oil blend ratio 10:4:2:1.6:1.2:1:0.6)1. Labiatae family (flowers); 2. (not applicable)1. Linalool, linalyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, β-ocimene, terpinen-4-ol, Camphor; 2. D-limonene, Linalool, Linalyl acetate, α-Pinene, α-Santalol1-6; 2-52
Other diseasesAsthma1. Eucalyptus oil; 2. Nepeta cataria L.; 3. Aromatic spices1. Myrtaceae (not applicable); 2. Limiaceae (not applicable); 3. (not applicable)1. 1,8-cineole; 2. 1,8-cineol, α-humulene, α-pinene and geranyl acetate; 3. Citronellol, α-terpineol, carvacrol1-21; 2-41; 3-42
Aging1. Pluchea dioscoridis; 2. Erigeron bonariensis; 3. Coriander1. Asteraceae (above-ground parts); 2. Asteraceae (above-ground parts); 3. Apiaceae (fruits)1. α-Maaliene, berkheyaradulen, dehydro-cyclolongifolene oxide, aromadendrene oxide-2, β-muurolene, and α-eudesmol; 2. Trans-α-farnesene, O-ocimene, isolongifolene-5-ol, α-maaliene, berkheyaradulen, and α-muurolene; 3. Linalool1-53; 2-53; 3-43

Other diseases

As reported by a variety of studies, EOs have anti-allergy, anti-asthma and anti-aging effects. For example, bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, in which a variety of cells and cellular components are involved. The terpene contained in EOs can relax the bronchial smooth muscle,41 reduce airway inflammation,42 and inhibit airway remodeling. As a result, EOs have the potential to be used for relieving asthma symptoms under the supervision of doctors. Furthermore, EOs have been shown to be rich in antioxidants, and have active effects in inhibiting elastase, tyrosinase and hyaluronidase. Therefore, these have potential biological activities in anti-wrinkle effects, and might have a good effect in improving exogenous aging.43,59 The EOs, main components, and related diseases reported in the literature are listed in Table 1.

Application of network pharmacology in essential oil researches

Network pharmacology was first proposed by Andrew L Hopkins in 2007,60 which integrates large amounts of information to obtain new discoveries by combining computational and experimental methods. In contrast to the classical “one target, one drug” view, network pharmacology has transformed the previous research framework into a “network target, multi-component therapy” model, in order to study the mechanisms of medicinal herbs and its complex components from a holistic perspective.61 This is completely consistent with the holistic view of herb-centered complementary therapy.62 This would allow for the exploration of complex active molecular components and potential molecular targets in herbal formulations, and enable researchers to understand the molecular relationship between different components in a compound, and between components and complex diseases.63 Pharmacological efficacy benefits from its internally integrated multimolecular systems, resulting in clinically meaningful collective effects. In network pharmacology, a network is a combination of various connections between herbal formulations and diseases. Networks mainly comprise of nodes and edges, in which the nodes represent the genes or any biological entity in a biomolecular network, and the edges represent the association, interaction, or any other well-defined relationship. In practice, the construction, analysis and verification of this network is the general path of network pharmacology research. A complex biological network on top of the vast array of existing databases is initially built. Then, the key nodes in the network are identified, and the key biological processes are predicted through network analysis. Finally, further verification through experiments, molecular docking and other operations is performed to ensure the reliability of the predicted results. At present, various modern tools are used for network pharmacology research, such as disease-target databases: TCMSP and OMIM.64,65 Active compound databases, such as PubChem66 and ChEMBL,67 can also be routinely and interactively used. Biomolecular interaction databases, such as HAPPI68 and STRING,69 are essential for the analysis. In addition to these databases, suitable analysis tools, such as CytoScape70 and GUESS, are required. These tools can more effectively and accurately screen out the active ingredients and targets from EOs, and predict the mechanism of action.71 In recent years, the mechanisms of traditional herbal medicines, including EOs, in the treatment of various serious diseases have been successfully predicted, including depression,72 arthritis,73 diabetes74 and other diseases,75,76 and achieved certain results.

EOs are widely used in the form of aromatherapy or phytotherapy. Some of these are used to treat insomnia, depression, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), inflammation, asthma, and various other abnormal conditions.77,78 Although various molecular mechanisms of actions have been proposed for EOs, most studies have only tested purified molecules, and the complex mixtures of compounds in herbal medicines have not been investigated, to date, although these have been shown to have more potent effects, when compared to a single isolated compound.79 Therefore, there is a need to develop new methods for assessing the effects of complex mixtures of compounds obtained from Eos.80 Network pharmacology, as a powerful strategy that considers all potential active ingredients, has unprecedented potential for the holistic study of Eos.81 This method constructs a plant complex target disease network based on the known molecular targets of experimental bioactive molecules in EOs. Through the characterization of disease-related target networks, the multiple roles of EO components can be rationalized, maintaining the integrity of the active molecular properties of plant complexes, and its use in the treatment or prevention of specific medical conditions.81 In the analysis of the main components of EOs by network pharmacology, the more a disease targets a certain EO, the more these targets are enriched in the main pathogenic pathways of the disease. This indicates that the component may have a more important role in the treatment of the disease. If different EO components act on a common target or signaling pathway, this indicates that these EO components have synergistic effects in the treatment of the disease.44

Various studies have explored the mechanisms by which EOs and its components are used to treat diseases via network pharmacology. For mental disorders, Wang et al. used network pharmacology to study the effective components, target proteins and molecular pathways of lavender in the treatment of insomnia. The ingredients of volatile oil obtained from lavender were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and 906 target proteins of lavender and 182 target proteins of insomnia were predicted by different databases. Furthermore, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichments were conducted based on the shared parts of the target proteins of lavender, and the target proteins of insomnia. By drawing network diagrams and performing an enrichment analysis, it was found that acetic acid and hexyl ester regulates key target proteins ADRB1 and HLA-DRB1, and interferes with the 5-hydroxytryptamine signaling pathway and GABAergic synapses signaling pathway, playing key roles in the treatment of insomnia.82 This study expounds the mechanism of lavender in regulating insomnia through multi-target and multi-channel, and provides a scientific basis for further research on the effect of lavender on insomnia. Another study was carried out by Li et al. to investigate the mechanism of volatile oil obtained from Alpinia oxyphylla for treating AD based on network pharmacology.83 Six effective components of Alpinia oxyphylla were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and four potential active ingredients in the treatment of AD and four core targets were screened through the protein-protein interaction network. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis results revealed that this included nerve ligand receptor interaction, the calcium signaling pathway, cholinergic synapse, and 5-hydroxytryptaminergic synapse. Furthermore, the results indicated that EOs obtained from Alpinia oxyphylla can synergistically treat AD by regulating calcium balance, cholinergic balance and phosphorylation.

In addition, Herb Siegesbeckiae (HS) has been widely used to treat inflammatory joint diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and arthritis. However, its molecular mechanisms and active ingredients have not been completely elucidated. Yang et al. investigated the multi-target action mechanism and main active components of HS EO in anti-RA, and screened out 31 HS core targets and 16 main active components by network pharmacology. The binding degree of most active components that refer to CSF2 and IL1β exceeded 10 (degree=16), indicating that the prevention and treatment of RA by HS may play a role through the combination of multiple components and multiple targets,84 It is noteworthy that aromatherapy does not appear to have the side effects of various traditional psychotropic drugs, which clearly deserves further clinical and scientific research.85

In recent years, network pharmacology prediction technology has been widely used in the field of herbal medicine due to its systematic and holistic advantages.13,86,87 It is very important to validate the results of the network pharmacology method.63 Molecular docking, which is a drug design method based on receptor properties, and interactions between receptors and drug molecules,88 can confirm the validity of predicted targets based on the docking scores, and binding between the receptor and ligand molecules.89 As an important technology in the field of computer-assisted drug research, a large number of software and computational web servers have been developed and applied, including DOCK,90 AutoDock,91 AutoDock Vina,92 PyMOL,93 Protein Database and PubChem (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ). Xiao et al. investigated the mechanism of turmeric EOs in the treatment of insomnia. They used AutoDock Vina and PyMOL to conduct the molecular docking and visualization of 17 targets, and active components related to sedation and hypnosis, providing useful insights into the mechanism of action of active ingredients.94 Lu et al. used molecular docking to verify the affinity of active compounds in Artemisia argyi essential oil for the treatment of pressure injury with core targets by downloading the top 10 core targets and top seven ligand files from the Protein Database and PubChem databases. Then, they used the AutoDock Vina software for molecular docking.95 The results revealed that the top seven active compounds of Artemisia argyi essential oil had good affinity for key targets, and that the root mean square deviation of each docking target and compound was <2 angstroms.95 In summary, the application of network pharmacology and molecular docking technology can effectively clarify the pharmacodynamic material basis of complex chemical substance systems, and improve the efficiency in drug discovery and development via the EO screening process.71,96

Conclusions

Network pharmacology is an integrated approach to efficiently elucidate the molecular mechanisms of EOs in the treatment of various human diseases, such as infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and mental disorders. The present study conducted a review of EOs, from the extraction of plant EOs to the functional application of EOs in human diseases, and subsequently to the network pharmacology of EOs. This provides a timely and brief updated overview of recent studies that involve EOs and human diseases, leading to insights in the potential applications of EOs as a natural reservoir for novel drug development. Overall, it can be concluded that network pharmacology offers a comprehensive and accurate understanding of molecular mechanisms for EOs in the complementary therapy processes of human diseases. This could significantly promote cost-effective natural drug development, and facilitate the popularity of EOs as a complementary medicine.

Abbreviations

AD: 

alzheimer’s disease

EOs: 

essential oils

GO: 

gene ontology

HS: 

herba siegesbeckiae

KEGG: 

kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes

RA: 

rheumatoid arthritis

Declarations

Acknowledgement

None.

Funding

We are grateful for the support provided by the University Philosophy and Social Science Research Foundation of Jiangsu Education Department (2022SJYB1185), and the Collaboration and Innovation Project of Xuzhou Medical University (XYRHCX2021008).

Conflict of interest

Liang Wang serves as an editorial board member of Future Integrative Medicine. The authors have no other commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest to disclose.

Authors’ contributions

LW conceived the core ideas of the manuscript, planned the structure of the manuscript, and was responsible for the student supervision and project administration. YDZ, JWT, QHL MG, ZWM and JYM performed the literature review. JWT visualized the literature data. All authors wrote and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

References

  1. Hoffmann KH. Essential oils. Z Naturforsch C J Biosci 2020;75(7-8):177 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  2. Karrar E, Ahmed IAM, Wei W, Sarpong F, Proestos C, Amarowicz R, et al. Characterization of Volatile Flavor Compounds in Supercritical Fluid Separated and Identified in Gurum (Citrulluslanatus Var. colocynthoide) Seed Oil Using HSME and GC-MS. Molecules 2022;27(12):3905 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  3. Aziz ZAA, Ahmad A, Setapar SHM, Karakucuk A, Azim MM, Lokhat D, et al. Essential Oils: Extraction Techniques, Pharmaceutical And Therapeutic Potential - A Review. Curr Drug Metab 2018;19(13):1100-1110 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  4. Vigan M. Essential oils: renewal of interest and toxicity. Eur J Dermatol 2010;20(6):685-692 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  5. Ramsey JT, Shropshire BC, Nagy TR, Chambers KD, Li Y, Korach KS. Essential Oils and Health. Yale J Biol Med 2020;93(2):291-305 PubMed/NCBI
  6. Fissler M, Quante A. A case series on the use of lavendula oil capsules in patients suffering from major depressive disorder and symptoms of psychomotor agitation, insomnia and anxiety. Complement Ther Med 2014;22(1):63-69 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  7. Elaissi A, Rouis Z, Salem NA, Mabrouk S, ben Salem Y, Salah KB, et al. Chemical composition of 8 eucalyptus species’ essential oils and the evaluation of their antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities. BMC Complement Altern Med 2012;12:81 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  8. Asif M, Saleem M, Saadullah M, Yaseen HS, Al Zarzour R. COVID-19 and therapy with essential oils having antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. Inflammopharmacology 2020;28(5):1153-1161 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  9. Hammer KA, Carson CF, Riley TV. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils and other plant extracts. J Appl Microbiol 1999;86(6):985-990 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  10. Belhadj S, Hentati O, Hammami M, Ben Hadj A, Boudawara T, Dammak M, et al. Metabolic impairments and tissue disorders in alloxan-induced diabetic rats are alleviated by Salvia officinalis L. essential oil. Biomed Pharmacother 2018;108:985-995 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  11. Kubatka P, Uramova S, Kello M, Kajo K, Samec M, Jasek K, et al. Anticancer Activities of Thymus vulgaris L. in Experimental Breast Carcinoma in Vivo and in Vitro. Int J Mol Sci 2019;20(7):1749 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  12. Hopkins AL. Network pharmacology: the next paradigm in drug discovery. Nat Chem Biol 2008;4(11):682-690 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  13. Li S, Zhang B. Traditional Chinese medicine network pharmacology: theory, methodology and application. Chin J Nat Med 2013;11(2):110-120 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  14. Li R, Li Y, Liang X, Yang L, Su M, Lai KP. Network Pharmacology and bioinformatics analyses identify intersection genes of niacin and COVID-19 as potential therapeutic targets. Brief Bioinform 2021;22(2):1279-1290 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  15. Xia QD, Xun Y, Lu JL, Lu YC, Yang YY, Zhou P, et al. Network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses on Lianhua Qingwen capsule indicate Akt1 is a potential target to treat and prevent COVID-19. Cell Prolif 2020;53(12):e12949 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  16. Cai Y, Zeng M, Chen YZ. The pharmacological mechanism of Huashi Baidu Formula for the treatment of COVID-19 by combined network pharmacology and molecular docking. Ann Palliat Med 2021;10(4):3864-3895 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  17. Islamuddin M, Chouhan G, Tyagi M, Abdin MZ, Sahal D, Afrin F. Leishmanicidal activities of Artemisia annua leaf essential oil against Visceral Leishmaniasis. Front Microbiol 2014;5:626 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  18. Moreira RRD, Martins GZ, Varandas R, Cogo J, Perego CH, Roncoli G, et al. Composition and leishmanicidal activity of the essential oil of Vernonia polyanthes Less (Asteraceae). Nat Prod Res 2017;31(24):2905-2908 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  19. Monzote L, Pastor J, Scull R, Gille L. Antileishmanial activity of essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides and its main components against experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice. Phytomedicine 2014;21(8-9):1048-1052 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  20. Bernuci KZ, Iwanaga CC, Fernadez-Andrade CM, Lorenzetti FB, Torres-Santos EC, Faioes VD, et al. Evaluation of Chemical Composition and Antileishmanial and Antituberculosis Activities of Essential Oils of Piper Species. Molecules 2016;21(12):1698 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  21. Sadlon AE, Lamson DW. Immune-modifying and antimicrobial effects of Eucalyptus oil and simple inhalation devices. Altern Med Rev 2010;15(1):33-47 PubMed/NCBI
  22. Civitelli L, Panella S, Marcocci ME, De Petris A, Garzoli S, Pepi F, et al. In vitro inhibition of herpes simplex virus type 1 replication by Mentha suaveolens essential oil and its main component piperitenone oxide. Phytomedicine 2014;21(6):857-865 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  23. Silva J, Figueiredo PLB, Byler KG, Setzer WN. Essential Oils as Antiviral Agents. Potential of Essential Oils to Treat SARS-CoV-2 Infection: An In-Silico Investigation. Int J Mol Sci 2020;21(10):3426 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  24. Panikar S, Shoba G, Arun M, Sahayarayan JJ, Usha Raja Nanthini A, Chinnathambi A, et al. Essential oils as an effective alternative for the treatment of COVID-19: Molecular interaction analysis of protease (M(pro)) with pharmacokinetics and toxicological properties. J Infect Public Health 2021;14(5):601-610 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  25. Wilkin PJ, Al-Yozbaki M, George A, Gupta GK, Wilson CM. The Undiscovered Potential of Essential Oils for Treating SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Curr Pharm Des 2020;26(41):5261-5277 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  26. GBD 2016 Causes of Death Collaborators. Global, regional, and national age-sex specific mortality for 264 causes of death, 1980-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet 2017;390(10100):1151-1210 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  27. GBD 2016 Stroke Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of stroke, 1990-2016: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet Neurol 2019;18(5):439-458 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  28. Kim IH, Kim C, Seong K, Hur MH, Lim HM, Lee MS. Essential oil inhalation on blood pressure and salivary cortisol levels in prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2012;2012:984203 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  29. da Cunha GH, de Moraes MO, Fechine FV, Frota Bezerra FA, Silveira ER, Canuto KM, et al. Vasorelaxant and antihypertensive effects of methanolic fraction of the essential oil of Alpinia zerumbet. Vascul Pharmacol 2013;58(5-6):337-345 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  30. Interaminense LF, Juca DM, Magalhaes PJ, Leal-Cardoso JH, Duarte GP, Lahlou S. Pharmacological evidence of calcium-channel blockade by essential oil of Ocimum gratissimum and its main constituent, eugenol, in isolated aortic rings from DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. Fundam Clin Pharmacol 2007;21(5):497-506 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  31. Pinto NV, Assreuy AM, Coelho-de-Souza AN, Ceccatto VM, Magalhaes PJ, Lahlou S, et al. Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxant effects of the essential oil from aerial parts of Alpinia zerumbet and its main constituent 1,8-cineole in rats. Phytomedicine 2009;16(12):1151-1155 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  32. Sargazi Zadeh G, Panahi N. Endothelium-independent vasorelaxant activity of Trachyspermum ammi essential oil on rat aorta. Clin Exp Hypertens 2017;39(2):133-138 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  33. Shojaei Shad F, Haghighi MJ. Study of the effect of the essential oil (extract) of rhubarb stem (shoot) on glycosylated hemoglobin and fasting blood glucose levels in patients with type II diabetes. Biomedicine (Taipei) 2018;8(4):24 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  34. Greay SJ, Ireland DJ, Kissick HT, Heenan PJ, Carson CF, Riley TV, et al. Inhibition of established subcutaneous murine tumour growth with topical Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2010;66(6):1095-1102 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  35. Ren P, Ren X, Cheng L, Xu L. Frankincense, pine needle and geranium essential oils suppress tumor progression through the regulation of the AMPK/mTOR pathway in breast cancer. Oncol Rep 2018;39(1):129-137 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  36. Xing X, Ma JH, Fu Y, Zhao H, Ye XX, Han Z, et al. Essential oil extracted from erythrina corallodendron L. leaves inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells. Medicine (Baltimore) 2019;98(36):e17009 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  37. Wu C, Zhuang Y, Jiang S, Tian F, Teng Y, Chen X, et al. Cinnamaldehyde induces apoptosis and reverses epithelial-mesenchymal transition through inhibition of Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in non-small cell lung cancer. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2017;84:58-74 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  38. Oboh G, Ademosun AO, Odubanjo OV, Akinbola IA. Antioxidative properties and inhibition of key enzymes relevant to type-2 diabetes and hypertension by essential oils from black pepper. Adv Pharmacol Sci 2013;2013:926047 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  39. Mnafgui K, Kchaou M, Ben Salah H, Hajji R, Khabbabi G, Elfeki A, et al. Essential oil of Zygophyllum album inhibits key-digestive enzymes related to diabetes and hypertension and attenuates symptoms of diarrhea in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Pharm Biol 2016;54(8):1326-1333 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  40. Abouhosseini Tabari M, Hajizadeh Moghaddam A, Maggi F, Benelli G. Anxiolytic and antidepressant activities of Pelargonium roseum essential oil on Swiss albino mice: Possible involvement of serotonergic transmission. Phytother Res 2018;32(6):1014-1022 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  41. Gilani AH, Shah AJ, Zubair A, Khalid S, Kiani J, Ahmed A, et al. Chemical composition and mechanisms underlying the spasmolytic and bronchodilatory properties of the essential oil of Nepeta cataria L. J Ethnopharmacol 2009;121(3):405-411 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  42. Pina LTS, Ferro JNS, Rabelo TK, Oliveira MA, Scotti L, Scotti MT, et al. Alcoholic monoterpenes found in essential oil of aromatic spices reduce allergic inflammation by the modulation of inflammatory cytokines. Nat Prod Res 2019;33(12):1773-1777 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  43. Salem MA, Manaa EG, Osama N, Aborehab NM, Ragab MF, Haggag YA, et al. Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) essential oil and oil-loaded nano-formulations as an anti-aging potentiality via TGFbeta/SMAD pathway. Sci Rep 2022;12(1):6578 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  44. Gomez LA, Stashenko E, Ocazionez RE. Comparative study on in vitro activities of citral, limonene and essential oils from Lippia citriodora and L. alba on yellow fever virus. Nat Prod Commun 2013;8(2):249-252 PubMed/NCBI
  45. Duschatzky CB, Possetto ML, Talarico LB, Garcia CC, Michis F, Almeida NV, et al. Evaluation of chemical and antiviral properties of essential oils from South American plants. Antivir Chem Chemother 2005;16(4):247-251 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  46. Haddad JG, Picard M, Benard S, Desvignes C, Despres P, Diotel N, et al. Ayapana triplinervis Essential Oil and Its Main Component Thymohydroquinone Dimethyl Ether Inhibit Zika Virus at Doses Devoid of Toxicity in Zebrafish. Molecules 2019;24(19):3447 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  47. Mahboubi M. Artemisia sieberi Besser essential oil and treatment of fungal infections. Biomed Pharmacother 2017;89:1422-1430 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  48. Mahboubi M, Kashani LM. The anti-dermatophyte activity of Commiphora molmol. Pharm Biol 2016;54(4):720-725 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  49. Athipornchai A, Kumpang R, Semsri S. Potential Biological Activities of Clausena Essential Oils for the Treatment of Diabetes. J Oleo Sci 2021;70(11):1669-1676 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  50. de Siqueira RJ, Rodrigues KM, da Silva MT, Correia Junior CA, Duarte GP, Magalhaes PJ, et al. Linalool-rich rosewood oil induces vago-vagal bradycardic and depressor reflex in rats. Phytother Res 2014;28(1):42-48 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  51. Duan D, Chen L, Yang X, Tu Y, Jiao S. Antidepressant-like effect of essential oil isolated from Toona ciliata Roem. var. yunnanensis. J Nat Med 2015;69(2):191-197 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  52. Zhong Y, Zheng Q, Hu P, Huang X, Yang M, Ren G, et al. Sedative and hypnotic effects of compound Anshen essential oil inhalation for insomnia. BMC Complement Altern Med 2019;19(1):306 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  53. Elgamal AM, Ahmed RF, Abd-ElGawad AM, El Gendy AEG, Elshamy AI, Nassar MI. Chemical Profiles, Anticancer, and Anti-Aging Activities of Essential Oils of Pluchea dioscoridis (L.) DC. and Erigeron bonariensis L. Plants (Basel) 2021;10(4):667 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  54. Lehrner J, Marwinski G, Lehr S, Johren P, Deecke L. Ambient odors of orange and lavender reduce anxiety and improve mood in a dental office. Physiol Behav 2005;86(1-2):92-95 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  55. McCaffrey R, Thomas DJ, Kinzelman AO. The effects of lavender and rosemary essential oils on test-taking anxiety among graduate nursing students. Holist Nurs Pract 2009;23(2):88-93 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  56. Lewith GT, Godfrey AD, Prescott P. A single-blinded, randomized pilot study evaluating the aroma of Lavandula augustifolia as a treatment for mild insomnia. J Altern Complement Med 2005;11(4):631-637 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  57. Johannessen B. Nurses experience of aromatherapy use with dementia patients experiencing disturbed sleep patterns. An action research project. Complement Ther Clin Pract 2013;19(4):209-213 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  58. Nasiri Lari Z, Hajimonfarednejad M, Riasatian M, Abolhassanzadeh Z, Iraji A, Vojoud M, et al. Efficacy of inhaled Lavandula angustifolia Mill. Essential oil on sleep quality, quality of life and metabolic control in patients with diabetes mellitus type II and insomnia. J Ethnopharmacol 2020;251:112560 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  59. Lohani A, Verma A, Hema G, Pathak K. Topical Delivery of Geranium/Calendula Essential Oil-Entrapped Ethanolic Lipid Vesicular Cream to Combat Skin Aging. Biomed Res Int 2021;2021:4593759 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  60. Hopkins AL. Network pharmacology. Nat Biotechnol 2007;25(10):1110-1111 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  61. Moodley D, Yoshida H, Mostafavi S, Asinovski N, Ortiz-Lopez A, Symanowicz P, et al. Network pharmacology of JAK inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2016;113(35):9852-9857 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  62. Dong R, Huang R, Shi X, Xu Z, Mang J. Exploration of the mechanism of luteolin against ischemic stroke based on network pharmacology, molecular docking and experimental verification. Bioengineered 2021;12(2):12274-12293 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  63. Jiao X, Jin X, Ma Y, Yang Y, Li J, Liang L, et al. A comprehensive application: Molecular docking and network pharmacology for the prediction of bioactive constituents and elucidation of mechanisms of action in component-based Chinese medicine. Comput Biol Chem 2021;90:107402 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  64. Ru J, Li P, Wang J, Zhou W, Li B, Huang C, et al. TCMSP: a database of systems pharmacology for drug discovery from herbal medicines. J Cheminform 2014;6:13 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  65. Hamosh A, Scott AF, Amberger JS, Bocchini CA, McKusick VA. Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), a knowledgebase of human genes and genetic disorders. Nucleic Acids Res 2005;33(suppl 1):D514-517 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  66. Cheng T, Pan Y, Hao M, Wang Y, Bryant SH. PubChem applications in drug discovery: a bibliometric analysis. Drug Discov Today 2014;19(11):1751-1756 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  67. Papadatos G, Overington JP. The ChEMBL database: a taster for medicinal chemists. Future Med Chem 2014;6(4):361-364 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  68. Chen JY, Mamidipalli S, Huan T. HAPPI: an online database of comprehensive human annotated and predicted protein interactions. BMC Genomics 2009;10(Suppl 1):S16 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  69. Szklarczyk D, Franceschini A, Wyder S, Forslund K, Heller D, Huerta-Cepas J, et al. STRING v10: protein-protein interaction networks, integrated over the tree of life. Nucleic Acids Res 2015;43(D1):D447-452 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  70. Shannon P, Markiel A, Ozier O, Baliga NS, Wang JT, Ramage D, et al. Cytoscape: a software environment for integrated models of biomolecular interaction networks. Genome Res 2003;13(11):2498-2504 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  71. Han K, Zhang L, Wang M, Zhang R, Wang C, Zhang C. Prediction Methods of Herbal Compounds in Chinese Medicinal Herbs. Molecules 2018;23(9):2303 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  72. Pan HT, Xi ZQ, Wei XQ, Wang K. A network pharmacology approach to predict potential targets and mechanisms of “Ramulus Cinnamomi (cassiae) - Paeonia lactiflora” herb pair in the treatment of chronic pain with comorbid anxiety and depression. Ann Med 2022;54(1):413-425 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  73. Xie B, Lu H, Xu J, Luo H, Hu Y, Chen Y, et al. Targets of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. A network pharmacology study. Joint Bone Spine 2021;88(2):105099 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  74. Xu F, Zhang M, Wu H, Wang Y, Yang Y, Wang X. Study on the mechanism of lupenone for treating type 2 diabetes by integrating pharmacological evaluation and network pharmacology. Pharm Biol 2022;60(1):997-1010 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  75. Zhou J, Wang Q, Xiang Z, Tong Q, Pan J, Wan L, et al. Network Pharmacology Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula Xiao Ke Yin Shui Treating Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2019;2019:4202563 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  76. Hu RF, Sun XB. Design of new traditional Chinese medicine herbal formulae for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus based on network pharmacology. Chin J Nat Med 2017;15(6):436-441 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  77. Lillehei AS, Halcon LL. A systematic review of the effect of inhaled essential oils on sleep. J Altern Complement Med 2014;20(6):441-451 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  78. Donato R, Sacco C, Pini G, Bilia AR. Antifungal activity of different essential oils against Malassezia pathogenic species. J Ethnopharmacol 2020;249:112376 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  79. Gomez Castellanos JR, Prieto JM, Heinrich M. Red Lapacho (Tabebuia impetiginosa)-a global ethnopharmacological commodity?. J Ethnopharmacol 2009;121(1):1-13 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  80. Cravotto G, Boffa L, Genzini L, Garella D. Phytotherapeutics: an evaluation of the potential of 1000 plants. J Clin Pharm Ther 2010;35(1):11-48 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  81. Buriani A, Fortinguerra S, Sorrenti V, Caudullo G, Carrara M. Essential Oil Phytocomplex Activity, a Review with a Focus on Multivariate Analysis for a Network Pharmacology-Informed Phytogenomic Approach. Molecules 2020;25(8):1833 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  82. Wang Y, Zou J, Jia Y, Liang Y, Zhang X, Wang CL, et al. A Study on the Mechanism of Lavender in the Treatment of Insomnia Based on Network Pharmacology. Comb Chem High Throughput Screen 2020;23(5):419-432 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  83. Li WJ, Xiao S, Zheng Q, Zhu LY, Zhang MX, Yang M, et al. Mechanism of volatile oil from Alpinia oxyphylla in treating Alzheimer's disease based on GC-MS and network pharmacology. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi 2021;46(12):3052-3057 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  84. Yang X, Li Y, Lv R, Qian H, Chen X, Yang CF. Study on the Multitarget Mechanism and Key Active Ingredients of Herba Siegesbeckiae and Volatile Oil against Rheumatoid Arthritis Based on Network Pharmacology. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2019;2019:8957245 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  85. Perry N, Perry E. Aromatherapy in the management of psychiatric disorders: clinical and neuropharmacological perspectives. CNS Drugs 2006;20(4):257-280 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  86. Zhang W, Huai Y, Miao Z, Qian A, Wang Y. Systems Pharmacology for Investigation of the Mechanisms of Action of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Drug Discovery. Front Pharmacol 2019;10:743 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  87. Luo TT, Lu Y, Yan SK, Xiao X, Rong XL, Guo J. Network Pharmacology in Research of Chinese Medicine Formula: Methodology, Application and Prospective. Chin J Integr Med 2020;26(1):72-80 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  88. Pinzi L, Rastelli G. Molecular Docking: Shifting Paradigms in Drug Discovery. Int J Mol Sci 2019;20(18):4331 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  89. Lee WY, Lee CY, Kim YS, Kim CE. The Methodological Trends of Traditional Herbal Medicine Employing Network Pharmacology. Biomolecules 2019;9(8):362 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  90. Allen WJ, Balius TE, Mukherjee S, Brozell SR, Moustakas DT, Lang PT, et al. DOCK 6: Impact of new features and current docking performance. J Comput Chem 2015;36(15):1132-1156 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  91. Wojciechowski M. Simplified AutoDock force field for hydrated binding sites. J Mol Graph Model 2017;78:74-80 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  92. Rentzsch R, Renard BY. Docking small peptides remains a great challenge: an assessment using AutoDock Vina. Brief Bioinform 2015;16(6):1045-1056 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  93. Lill MA, Danielson ML. Computer-aided drug design platform using PyMOL. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2011;25(1):13-19 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  94. Xiao S, Liu S, Yu H, Xie Y, Guo Y, Fan J, et al. A Study on the Mechanism of the Sedative-hypnotic Effect of Cinnamomum camphora chvar. Borneol Essential Oil Based on Network Pharmacology. J Oleo Sci 2022;71(7):1063-1073 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  95. Lu ST, Tang LL, Zhou LH, Lai YT, Liu LX, Duan Y. Study on the Multitarget Mechanism and Active Compounds of Essential Oil from Artemisia argyi Treating Pressure Injuries Based on Network Pharmacology. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022;2022:1019289 View Article PubMed/NCBI
  96. Yu L, Wei F, Liang J, Ren G, Liu X, Wang CZ, et al. Target Molecular-Based Neuroactivity Screening and Analysis of Panax ginseng by Affinity Ultrafiltration, UPLC-QTOF-MS and Molecular Docking. Am J Chin Med 2019;47(6):1345-1363 View Article PubMed/NCBI
Copyright © 2023 Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License (CC BY-NC 4.0), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
  • Future Integrative Medicine
  • pISSN 2993-5253
  • eISSN 2835-6357

Article Options

Metrics

Cite this Article

  • © 2024 Xia & He Publishing Inc.
  • Total visits : 1949135
  • Visits today : 2453
Back to Top

Biological, Functional and Network Pharmacological Exploration of Essential Oils in Treatment and Healthcare of Human Diseases

Yudong Zhang, Jiawei Tang, Qinghua Liu, Jinming Ge, Zhangwen Ma, Jingyi Mou, Liang Wang
  • Reset Zoom
  • Download TIFF