Essential Oils of Garcinia spp. and Their Biological Activities

Abstract

Garcinia is the largest genus in the Clusiaceae family. Plants of Garcinia are widely distributed in Africa, Asia, Australia, Central America, Madagascar, and Polynesia. There are over 400 species of Garcinia found in the lowland tropical forests. Garcinia are known for their medicinal values due to the presence of biologically active constituents. Plants with medicinal values play a key role in human health and disease prevention. Plant-based natural products such as essential oils (EOs) have been employed for centuries owing to their beneficial effects. Generally, EOs are a mixture of volatile chemical constituents comprising mainly terpenoids and phenylpropanoids. They play diverse roles as biologically active agents. To date, EOs have found wide applications in pharmaceutical, food, flavour and fragrance. This review discusses the volatile chemical constituents of EOs extracted from different plant parts of Garcinia. The biological activities of Garcinia EOs are highlighted to explore their therapeutic potential.