Essential Oils from Mediterranean Aromatic Plants

Essential oils are concentrated natural products characterized by a strong odor and formed by aromatic plants as secondary metabolites. They are variable mixtures of principally terpenoids, especially monoterpenes ), and sesquiterpenes, although diterpenes may also be present along with a variety of other molecules. They are liquid, volatile, limpid, colored, and soluble in lipids and in organic solvents with a density generally lower than that of water. They can be present in all plant organs and are stored in secretory cells, cavities, canals, epidermal cells, or glandular trichomes. Essential oils are extracted from various aromatic plants generally found in temperate to warm locations such as the Mediterranean and tropical countries, where they represent an important part of the traditional pharmacopeia. Known for their bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, and medicinal properties and their fragrance, they are used in the preservation of foods and as antimicrobial, analgesic, sedative, anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic, and locally anaesthetic remedies . The Mediterranean flora is characterized by an abundance of aromatic plants. Such plants make a significant contribution to the Mediterranean ecological community both in terms of species numbers and biomass. Moreover, apart from their medical properties, as displayed by plants of the genera Thymus Salvia, Teucrium, and others, aromatic plants represent a source of substances that might benefit the food industry or in agriculture due to the increasing difficulties of managing pesticide resistance and the associated environmental impacts .