Table 1.
General characteristics of essential oils incorporated in hydrogels.
| Plants | Essential Oils | Main Constituents | Extraction Procedure | Pharmacological Properties | Applications | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinnamomum zeylanicum | Cinnamon oil | cinnamaldehyde | Steam distillation and Soxhlex extraction | Antimicrobial, antibiotic, antioxidant | Food packaging materials, food preservation | [129,147,148,149] |
| Lavandula angustifolia | Lavandin essential oils | Terpenes (e.g., linalool, linalyl acetate, terpinen-4-ol) and terpenoids (e.g., eucalyptol) |
Steam distillation | Antioxidants, antibacterial, anxiolytics, analgesics, and anti-inflammatories | Wound healing, Microparticles as delivery system |
[48,150,151,152,153] |
| Cymbopogon (spp.) | Lemongrass essential oils | Terpenes and Terpenoids (Terpinen-4-ol, α-Terpineol (neral, isoneral, geranial, isogeranial, geraniol, geranyl acetate, citronellal, citronellol, germacrene-D, and elemol) | Steam distillation | Antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, and antioxidant | Pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food preservations industries | [154,155] |
| Melaleuca alternifolia | Tea tree essential oils | Terpenes (e.g., terpinen-4-ol, 1,8-cineole) | Steam distillation | Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory | Beads for food preservation | [156,157,158] |
| Mentha piperita | Peppermint essential oils | Menthol, menthone, neomenthol and iso-menthone | Steam distillation, hydrodistillation, microwave-assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, ultrasonic-assisted extraction and countercurrent extraction | Anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, scolicidal, immunomodulatory, antitumor, neuroprotective, antifatigue and antioxidant; hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects, gastrointestinal and dermatological diseases | Patches, wound dressing | [63,159,160,161,162] |
|
Ocimum basilicum (L.) |
Basil essential oils | Eugenol, e α-Pinene, β-Pinene, Methyl chavicol, 1,8 cineole, L-linalool, Ocimene, Borneol, Geraneol, B-Caryphyllone, and n-Cinnamate |
Hydrodistillation | Carminative, galactogogue, stomachic and antispasmodic tonic, vermifuge, | Food packaging, antiperspirant in agriculture |
[163,164,165,166] |
| Thymus vulgaris (L.) | Thyme essential oils | Carvacrol, 5-isopropyl-2-methylphenol, and a p-cymene | Hydrodistillation, steam distillation | Antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and anticancer bioactivities | Wound healing, wound dressing; beads as delivery systems |
[33,35,36,47,63,79,167] |