Abstract

Plant essential oils are naturally occurring volatile components primarily derived from the seeds, stems, bark, and roots of many plants that have been in use for thousands of years in various civilizations for medicinal and health purposes (Jones, 1996). The versatile role of these essential oils ranges from personal beauty care and household cleaning products, aromatherapy, and natural drugs, which comes from the antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties present in them (Anonymous, 2016). These oils are usually present in glandular hairs or secretory cavities of the plant cell wall and as fluid droplets in the bark, flowers, leaves, stems, roots, and/or fruits of diverse plants. The aromatic properties of essential oils execute various functions for the plants, which include attracting or deterring insects, protecting themselves from heat or cold, and utilizing some chemical constituents such as monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and phenolics (Bhalla et al., 2013) of the oil as defense materials (Koul et al., 2008).