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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Lipidomics and Transcriptomics in Neurological Diseases
Published on: March 18, 2022
Essential Oils: Chemistry and Mechanisms of Anticonvulsant Action
Lígia Salgueiro1,2, Mónica Zuzarte1,2,3,4, Jeremias Justo Emídio5
1Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga de S. Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.
Abstract:
Essential oils have attracted increasing attention due to their bioactive properties. This review focuses on their anticonvulsant potential by exploring the relation between the chemical composition of essential oils and the mechanism of action underlying this effect. Evidence from in vivo and ex vivo studies is presented to identify structure-activity relations and to distinguish well-supported effects from preliminary findings. Moreover, essential oil's quality is vital to ensure safety and efficacy in pharmacotherapeutic approaches. For this reason, factors including extraction and analytical methods as well as authenticity assessment are discussed due to their impact on pharmacological consistency and reproducibility. Overall, this review highlights key compounds and mechanisms contributing to anticonvulsant activity, identifies current limitations in the literature, and outlines priorities for future research aimed at validating essential oils as potential complementary therapeutic agents in seizure management.
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