Actividad antiviral de aceites esenciales de plantas

Abstract

Essential oils are highly volatile aromatic substances that are extracted from plant material from different parts of plants. It has been shown in various bibliographic sources that these compounds can inhibit different types of viruses due to their varied composition of bioactive substances and represents a potential source of active principles for its use in the pharmaceutical industry. However, the availability of summaries with synthesized information on a variety of these is limited, which leads to a general lack of knowledge of their benefits. The objective of this study is to identify the main essential oils that have antiviral activity. With this aim, the research question is the following: ¿Which essential oils exhibit antiviral activity according to the literature reviewed in bibliographic databases? This is answered through an exhaustive investigation of quantitative data of in vitro antiviral activity of 42 types of plants. The data found are classified according to the percentage of inhibition in the categories of high (total inhibition), high, moderate, low, no activity and no activity with enhancement of viral activity. These results indicate varied antiviral activity, of the essential oils investigated, several of them have a total inhibition capacity of certain viruses, while others, despite not eliminating them, have a high antiviral activity and, on the other hand, certain essential oils demonstrate a viral potentiating ability. Taking this into account, it is recommended to use the tabulated data for future research to verify the efficacy of these substances.