Essential oils encapsulated in zeolite structures as delivery systems (EODS): an overview

Essential oils (EO) obtained from plants have proven industrial applications in the manufacturing of perfumes and cosmetics, in the production and flavoring of foods and beverages, as therapeutic agents in aromatherapy, and as the active principles or excipients of medicines and pharmaceutics due to their olfactory, physical-chemical, and biological characteristics. On behalf of the new paradigm of a more natural and sustainable lifestyle, EO are rather appealing due to their physical, chemical, and physiological actions in human beings. However, EO are unstable and susceptible to degradation or loss. To tackle this aspect, the encapsulation of EO in microporous structures as zeolites is an attractive solution, since these host materials are cheap and non-toxic to biological environments. This overview provides basic information regarding essential oils, including their recognized benefits and functional properties. Current progress regarding EO encapsulation in zeolite structures is also discussed, highlighting some representative examples of essential oil delivery systems (EODS) based on zeolites for healthcare applications or aromatherapy.

The authors are grateful for the national funds provided by the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal) under the projects UIDB/04050/2020 (CBMA) and PTDC/AAGTEC/5269/2014 (FEDER, European Fund for Regional Development)/COM PETE/POCI—Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme under the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006958. They are grateful for the financial support provided by the Research Centers CQ/UM through UID/QUI/0686/2020 and Project BioTecNorte (operation NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004), supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020) under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement through the European Regional Development Fund.

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