Essential oils (EOs) are known to possess a number of beneficial properties. Their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and cancer-preventing activities have been extensively reported. Due to their wide use as food preservers and additives, as well as their use in agriculture, perfumes, and make-up products, these complex mixtures of volatile compounds have gained importance from a commercial point of view, not only in the pharmaceutical industry, but also in agronomic, food, cosmetic, and perfume industries. An analysis of the recent scientific literature allowed us to highlight the presence of an increasing number of studies on the potential antiarthritic properties of EOs and their main constituents, which seems to suggest a new interesting potential therapeutic application. The aim of this review is to examine the current knowledge on the beneficial effects of essential oils in the treatment of arthritic diseases, providing an overview of the reports on the in vivo and in vitro effects of EOs. Furthermore, this review critically examines the recent findings on the potential roles of the main components of EOs in the exerted beneficial effects. Obtained negative results are also reported.
Keywords: anti-arthritic; anti-inflammatory; essential oils; medicinal plants; rheumatoid arthritis; secondary metabolites; terpenes.