African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 3 (12), pp. 706-720, December 2004          
ISSN 1684–5315 © 2004 Academic Journals

Review

Mining the essential oils of the Anthemideae

Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva

Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki-cho, Ikenobe, 2393, Kagawa-ken, 761-0795, Japan. E-mail: jaimetex@yahoo.com; Telfax: +81 (0)87 898 8909.

Accepted  21 November, 2004

Numerous members of the Anthemideae are important cut-flower and ornamental crops, as well as medicinal and aromatic plants, many of which produce essential oils used in folk and modern medicine, the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These oils and compounds contained within them are used in the pharmaceutical, flavour and fragrance industries. Moreover, as people search for alternative and herbal forms of medicine and relaxation (such as aromatherapy), and provided that there are no suitable synthetic substitutes for many of the compounds or difficulty in profiling and mimicking complex compound mixtures in the volatile oils, the original plant extracts will continue to be used long into the future. This review highlights the importance of secondary metabolites and essential oils from principal members of this tribe, their global social, medicinal and economic relevance and potential.

Key words: Apoptosis, artemisinin, chamomile, essential oil, feverfew, pyrethrin, tansy.