Plant Essential Oils in the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Cancer

Gastrointestinal malignancies are well-known terms in the pathogenesis of the alimentary canal. They have been prevalent in different organs of the gastrointestinal tract system. Gastric tumor is the second most common cause of death due to cancer in the world. The epidemiology of cancer has changed within the last few decades. A significant deal with such carcinomas is done using essential plant constituents like alkaloids, volatile oils, and glycosides. They involve various mechanisms for eliminating these carcinomas. Many plant essential oils, such as thymol, lemon oil, limonene, carvacrol, and lavender oils, have been investigated for their anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-carcinogenic properties been shown to modulate numerous immunological and cellular functions. Many types of research have proven that a large number of volatile oils and aromatic compounds present in various plants have important anti-cancer activities. They showed the anti-cancer effect on cell lines and cancer cells in animals. The use of various plant volatile oils may alter or affect the pathogenesis of several types of gastrointestinal cancer like liver cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, etc. In this chapter, the anti-cancer activity of plant essential oil components against GIT cancers has been discussed, with a focus on their possible mechanism of action. 

Keywords: Carvacrol, Essential oils, GI cancers, Limonene, Pathogenesis, Thymol