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Review
. 2024 May 15;25(10):5397.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25105397.

Multiplicative Effects of Essential Oils and Other Active Components on Skin Tissue and Skin Cancers

Hyeong Jae Kim  1 , Jeong Hee Hong  1
Affiliations
Review

Multiplicative Effects of Essential Oils and Other Active Components on Skin Tissue and Skin Cancers

Hyeong Jae Kim et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Naturally derived essential oils and their active components are known to possess various properties, ranging from anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-cancer activities. Numerous types of essential oils and active components have been discovered, and their permissive roles have been addressed in various fields. In this comprehensive review, we focused on the roles of essential oils and active components in skin diseases and cancers as discovered over the past three decades. In particular, we opted to highlight the effectiveness of essential oils and their active components in developing strategies against various skin diseases and skin cancers and to describe the effects of the identified essential-oil-derived major components from physiological and pathological perspectives. Overall, this review provides a basis for the development of novel therapies for skin diseases and cancers, especially melanoma.

Keywords: essential oils; inflammation; melanoma; skin diseases; skin homeostasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic of the alleviation effect of PF-EO treatment in an imiquimod-mediated mouse model of psoriasis. PF-EO treatment induces the downregulation of psoriasis symptoms, such as erythema, scaling, and epidermal thickening, and the expression of inflammatory factors and psoriasis-related factors [22]. The red arrow indicates downregulated expression in the epidermis of a PF-EO-treated mouse. PF-EO: Perilla frutescens L. Britt essential oil; IL: interleukin; iNOS: inducible nitric oxide synthase; COX-2: cyclooxygenase-2; IFN: interferon.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic of the anti-melanoma effect of AC-EO treatment on B16F10 melanoma cells. Cell viability is regulated by AC-EO-mediated apoptosis or the downregulation of proliferation [133]. HB-EGF or EGFR overexpression affects MMPs-7 and -9 and ADAM-9 signaling, whereas AC-EO, Cetuximab, or siRNA-EGFR inhibits signaling [133]. AC-EO: Aloysia citrodora-essential oil; Bax: Bcl-2-associated X; Cas: caspase; p-ERK: phosphoextracellular signal-regulated kinase; MMP: matrix metalloproteinase; ADAM: a disintegrin and metalloprotease; HB-EGF: heparin-binding epidermal growth factor; EGFR: epidermal growth factor receptor.
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