ABSTRACT
The chapter “Central Nervous System Effects of Essential Oil Compounds,” by Elaine Elisabetsky and Domingos Sávio Nunes, provides a critical review of the scientific outcome in the area of psychopharmacology of essential oils (EOs). Due to replicability concerns, only the effects of isolated compounds were considered. A detailed review of the effects of 34 compounds reported to have anxiolytic, hypnotic, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, and/or neuroprotective properties is offered. Reported activities and underlying mechanisms of action, summarized in tables, are detailed for each compound. In order to allow the reader to gauge the value of reported data, for each pharmacological area, brief descriptions of current evaluation methods and the mechanism of action of clinical drug area are provided. Psychoactive volatiles (PAVs) are here defined as molecules characterized by (a) a single chemical function and ample apolar proportion of the molecular area, (b) containing 0–3 heteroatoms (TPSA <60 Å2), (c) molecular weight <300, and (d) only positive values for XLogP3, predominantly 1–5. PAVs are grouped into alcohols, phenols and aromatic methyl ethers, hydrocarbons, carbonylic compounds, monoterpene epoxides and furanes, and nitrogenated compounds. Structure/activity aspects of these psychoactive volatiles are discussed. Research perspectives are encouraged in the context of innovation and of translational pharmacology.
