Lavandula Essential Oils: Applications in Medical, Pharmaceutical, Food, and Cosmetic Industries

The global market for essential oils has risen steadily over the past few years and is expected to reach around $ 7.5 billion a year by 2018. Lavanda (Lavandula, the Lamiaceae family) contributes significantly to this market, producing about 1500 tons of essential oils that are mainly used in cosmetics, personal care products and medicines. The objective of the exhaustive study was to research the recent literature on these preparations, which also shows that these oils can have applications in food preservation and pest control, among others. The material used was a substantial part of the current research, which we analyzed, focusing on assessing the biological activities of essential oils of lavender. The method was to describe the medicinal and pharmaceutical properties of lavender species, mainly due to their essential oils, especially the principal constituents of the essential oil: linalool and linalyl acetate, although certain activities were attributed to phenolic compounds. In addition, we have demonstrated that there is evidence that certain major and minor constituents of the essential oil act synergistically to produce various effects. The results recommend the potential use of these oils in traditional and complementary medicine, food systems, cosmetic formulations and perfumes as well as in insecticides and fungicides. In conclusion, this paper examines recent advances in these areas and highlights the current and future implications for these valuable economic and medical plants.