Plants and their extracts are the new field of interest for many scientists and also of some pharmaceutical industries. In order to provide more information for their usage in the prevention and treatment of diseases many clinical trials and researches are being carried out. In this review the biological activities and the mechanism of action of volatile phenylpropanoids (PPs) found in essential oils (EOs) are presented. The aim of this overview is to show that volatile PPs found in EOs can exert many of the biological activities which are generally attributed to EOs. Almost all of the PPs possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. These are related to the different substitution of the phenylpropane molecule. For each isolated group not only one, but more pharmacological activities can be credited.
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