Application of Essential Oils in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Essential oils (EOs) are natural compounds obtained from algae and different parts of plants. EOs are volatile secondary metabolites and are classified into major groups, including terpenes/terpenoids and aromatic/aliphatic compounds. There are numerous studies about the biological activities of EOs, demonstrating their abilities for the prevention and treatment of diseases. Their biological activities are mainly related to their constituents, such as α-pinene, thymol, 1, 8-cineole, carvacrol, etc. Thus, the use of EOs as pharmaceutical agents for curing several diseases has gained much attraction in recent years. Moreover, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a type of disease that causes chronic inflammation in the intestine. Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are two main forms of IBD. Some studies have reported the efficacy of EOs in treating IBD, in particular, UC. This chapter will focus on the biomedical application of EOs in the treatment of IBD.