A Review of the Application and Pharmacological Properties of α ‐Bisabolol and α ‐Bisabolol‐Rich Oils
Abstract
Abstract α ‐Bisabolol is a naturally occurring sesquiterpene alcohol which was first isolated from Matricaria chamomilla (Asteraceae) in the twentieth century and has since been identified in other aromatic plants such as Eremanthus erythropappus , Smyrniopsis aucheri and Vanillosmopsis species. Recently, α ‐bisabolol was identified as a major constituent of Salvia runcinata essential oil, a plant indigenous to South Africa. The use of α ‐bisabolol or bisabolol‐rich oil as an anti‐inflammatory agent is ubiquitous. This compound also exhibits several other pharmacological properties such as analgesic, antibiotic and anticancer activities. Mutagenicity and genotoxicity of bisabolol have also been investigated. Due to the low toxicity associated with bisabolol the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted this constituent with Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) status which has promoted its use as an active ingredient in several commercial products. This review aims to summarise the role of α ‐bisabolol in pharmacological and/or physiological processes and to discuss some of the possible mechanisms of action of this commercially important molecule.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Low solubility of α-bisabolol isolated from Matricaria chamomilla L. essential oil leads to significantly reduced bioavailability.
“The low solubility of α-bisabolol, isolated from Matricaria chamomilla L. essential oil leads to significantly reduced bioavailability [219].”
From Multi-Target Mechanisms of Phytochemicals in Alzheimer’s Disease: Effects on Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Protein Aggregation (2022) · cites this paper as [219]
Diseases such as brain dysfunction, cancer, heart disease, and immune system decline may result from cellular damage caused by free radicals.
“Increasing evidence has suggested that these diseases may result from cellular damage caused by free radicals [16,17].”
From Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Essential Oils: A Short Review (2010) · cites this paper as [17]
Essential oils may possess antioxidant activities of interest in food, cosmetic, and human health.
“Essential oils are complex mixtures isolated from aromatic plants which may possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of interest in thye food and cosmetic industries as well as in the human health field.”
From Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Essential Oils: A Short Review (2010) · cites this paper as [17]
Essential oils may play a role in prevention of brain dysfunction, cancer, heart disease, and immune system decline by scavenging free radicals.
“Moreover, essential oils being also able of scavenging free radicals may play an important role in some disease prevention such as brain dysfunction, cancer, heart disease and immune system decline.”
From Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Essential Oils: A Short Review (2010) · cites this paper as [17]
Chamomile essential oil has been used for centuries as an anti-inflammatory and for alleviating symptoms associated with eczema, dermatitis and other pronounced irritation.
“For example, chamomile essential oil has been used for centuries as an anti-inflammatory and also for alleviating the symptoms associated with eczema, dermatitis and other pronounced irritation [17].”
From Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Essential Oils: A Short Review (2010) · cites this paper as [17]
Chamazulene and α-bisabolol present in chamomile essential oil have anti-inflammatory activities partly due to inhibition of leukotriene synthesis because they appear to be good 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors.
“Chamazulene and α-bisabolol are examples of other components, present in the essential oil of chamomile, with anti-inflammatory activities partly due to the inhibition of leukotriene synthesis since they appear to be good 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors [17].”
From Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Essential Oils: A Short Review (2010) · cites this paper as [17]
Cites
Free radicals, oxidative stress, and antioxidants in human health and disease
Aruoma, O. I. (1998) · Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society · doi:10.1007/s11746-998-0032-9 · Cited by 1,682 · see citing works
Duke, J. A. (2002) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/9781420040463 · Cited by 1,632 · see citing works
Ultee, A., Bennik, M. H. J., & Moezelaar, R. (2002) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.68.4.1561-1568.2002 · Cited by 1,602 · see citing works
Quorum Sensing in the Dimorphic Fungus <i>Candida albicans</i> Is Mediated by Farnesol
Hornby, J. M., Jensen, E. C., Lisec, A. D., Tasto, J. J., Jahnke, B., Shoemaker, R., Dussault, P., & Nickerson, K. W. (2001) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.67.7.2982-2992.2001 · Cited by 983 · see citing works
Kalia, Y. N., Naik, A., Garrison, J. L., & Guy, R. H. (2003) · Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.addr.2003.10.026 · Cited by 863 · see citing works
Common Fragrance and Flavor Materials
Surburg, H., & Panten, J. (2016) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9783527693153 · Cited by 592 · see citing works
Terpenes and the Lipid–Protein–Partitioning Theory of Skin Penetration Enhancement
Williams, A. C., & Barry, B. W. (1991) · Pharmaceutical Research · doi:10.1023/a:1015813803205 · Cited by 553 · see citing works
Carcinogenicity and Modification of the Carcinogenic Response by bha, Bht, and Other Antioxidants
Ito, N., Fukushima, S., & Tsuda, H. (1985) · Critical Reviews in Toxicology · doi:10.3109/10408448509029322 · Cited by 341 · see citing works
Ecological Chemistry and Biochemistry of Plant Terpenoids.
Meurer‐Grimes, B., Harborne, J. B., & Tomás-Barberán, F. A. (1992) · Brittonia · doi:10.2307/2806846 · Cited by 337 · see citing works
Inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase by essential oils and other natural fragrant extracts
Baylac, S. (2003) · International Journal of Aromatherapy · doi:10.1016/s0962-4562(03)00083-3 · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Antioxidant and pro-oxidant activity of green tea extracts in marine oils
Wanasundara, U. N., & Shahidi, F. (1998) · Food Chemistry · doi:10.1016/s0308-8146(98)00025-9 · Cited by 308 · see citing works
Brehm‐Stecher, B. F., & Johnson, E. A. (2003) · Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy · doi:10.1128/aac.47.10.3357-3360.2003 · Cited by 285 · see citing works
Common Fragrance and Flavor Materials
Bauer, K., Garbe, D., & Surburg, H. (1997) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9783527612390 · Cited by 283 · see citing works
Inhibitory effect of essential oils against herpes simplex virus type 2
Koch, C., Reichling, J., Schneele, J., & Schnitzler, P. (2007) · Phytomedicine · doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2007.09.003 · Cited by 274 · see citing works
Antimicrobial activity of aroma chemicals and essential oils
Morris, J. A., Khettry, A., & Seitz, E. W. (1979) · Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society · doi:10.1007/bf02660245 · Cited by 267 · see citing works
Status of terpenes as skin penetration enhancers
Aqil, M., Ahad, A., Sultana, Y., & Ali, A. (2007) · Drug Discovery Today · doi:10.1016/j.drudis.2007.09.001 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
Ecological chemistry and biochemistry of plant terpenoids
Harborne, J. B., & Tomás-Barberán, F. A. (1991) · Cited by 251 · see citing works
The inhibition of Candida albicans by selected essential oils and their major components
Tampieri, M. P., Galuppi, R., Macchioni, F., et al. (2005) · Mycopathologia · doi:10.1007/s11046-003-4790-5 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
Cornwell, P. A., & Barry, B. W. (1994) · Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology · doi:10.1111/j.2042-7158.1994.tb03791.x · Cited by 197 · see citing works
The Biological Activities of 20 Nature Identical Essential Oil Constituents
van Zyl, R. L., Seatlholo, S. T., van Vuuren, S. F., & Viljoen, A. M. (2006) · Journal of Essential Oil Research · doi:10.1080/10412905.2006.12067134 · Cited by 190 · see citing works
Self-citation(1999) · Royal Society of Chemistry eBooks · doi:10.1039/9781847552044 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Kamatou, G., Viljoen, A. M., Gono-Bwalya, A. B., van Zyl, R. L., van Vuuren, S. F., Lourens, A. C. U., Başer, K. H. C., Demırcı, B., Lindsey, K. L., van Staden, J., et al. (2005) · Journal of Ethnopharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2005.06.034 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Self-citationChamazulene: An Antioxidant-Type Inhibitor of Leukotriene B4Formation
Safayhi, H., Sabieraj, J., Sailer, E.-R., & Ammon, H. (1994) · Planta Medica · doi:10.1055/s-2006-959520 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
α-Bisabolol, a nontoxic natural compound, strongly induces apoptosis in glioma cells
Cavalieri, E., Mariotto, S., Fabrizi, C., et al. (2004) · Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications · doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.01.088 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Phase solubility studies of pure (−)-α-bisabolol and camomile essential oil with β-cyclodextrin
Waleczek, K. J. (2003) · European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics · doi:10.1016/s0939-6411(02)00166-2 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Lopes, N. P., Kato, M. J., Andrade, E. H. D. A., Maia, J. G. S., Yoshida, M., Planchart, A. R., & Katzin, A. M. (1999) · Journal of Ethnopharmacology · doi:10.1016/s0378-8741(99)00072-0 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Harrewijn, P., van Oosten, A. M., & Piron, P. G. M. (2011) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 101 · see citing works
de Souza, A. T., Benazzi, T. L., Grings, M. B., Cabral, V. F., da Silva, E. A., Cardozo‐Filho, L., & Antunes, O. A. C. (2008) · The Journal of Supercritical Fluids · doi:10.1016/j.supflu.2008.08.001 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Gomes-Carneiro, M. R., Dias, D. M. M., De-Oliveira, A. C. A. X., & Paumgartten, F. J. R. (2005) · Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis · doi:10.1016/j.mrgentox.2005.04.007 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Microbicidal protein psoriasin is a multifunctional modulator of neutrophil activation
Zheng, Y., Niyonsaba, F., Ushio, H., Ikeda, S., Nagaoka, I., Okumura, K., & Ogawa, H. (2008) · Immunology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2567.2007.02782.x · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Essential Oils and Aromatic Plants
Svendsen, A. B., & Scheffer, J. J. C. (1985) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-5137-2 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Braga, P. C., Sasso, M. D., Fonti, E., et al. (2008) · Pharmacology · doi:10.1159/000186049 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Villegas, L., Marçalo, A., Martin, J. L., et al. (2001) · Journal of Natural Products · doi:10.1021/np0102859 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Atividade larvicida de óleos essenciais contra Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae)
Furtado, R. F., de Lima, M. G. A., Neto, M. A., et al. (2005) · Neotropical Entomology · doi:10.1590/s1519-566x2005000500018 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Darra, E., Abdel‐Azeim, S., Manara, A., et al. (2008) · Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics · doi:10.1016/j.abb.2008.02.004 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Isaac, O. (1979) · Planta Medica · doi:10.1055/s-0028-1097193 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Koch, C., Reichling, J., Kehm, R., et al. (2008) · Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology · doi:10.1211/jpp.60.11.0017 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Siegenthaler, G., Saurat, J. ‐., & Ponec, M. (1988) · Experimental Cell Research · doi:10.1016/0014-4827(88)90383-7 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Bisabolol
Andersen, F. A. (1999) · International Journal of Toxicology · doi:10.1177/109158189901800305 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
α-Bisabolol, a possible safe penetration enhancer for dermal and transdermal therapeutics
Kadir, R., & Barry, B. W. (1991) · International Journal of Pharmaceutics · doi:10.1016/0378-5173(91)90167-m · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Enhancement of transdermal penetration of dapiprazole through hairless mouse skin
Monti, D., Saettone, M. F., Giannaccini, B., & Galli-Angeli, D. (1995) · Journal of Controlled Release · doi:10.1016/0168-3659(94)00079-a · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Synthesis and cytotoxicity evaluation of natural α-bisabolol β-d-fucopyranoside and analogues
Piochon, M., Legault, J., Gauthier, C., et al. (2009) · Phytochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2008.11.013 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Composition of the Essential Oil ofTanacetum polycephalumSchultz Bip.
Morteza‐Semnani, K. (2006) · Journal of Essential Oil Research · doi:10.1080/10412905.2006.9699041 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Sesquiterpenes from the wood of Juniperus lucayana
Núñez, Y. O., Salabarría, I. S., Collado, I. G., et al. (2007) · Phytochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2007.05.030 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oils of Nepal
Yonzon, M., Lee, D. J., Yokochi, T., et al. (2005) · Journal of Essential Oil Research · doi:10.1080/10412905.2005.9698846 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Effect of dissolution profile and (-)-alpha-bisabolol on the gastrotoxicity of acetylsalicylic acid.
Torrado, S., Torrado, S., Agis, A., et al. (1995) · PubMed · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Mechanisms of depigmentation by α-bisabolol
Kim, S., Lee, J., Jung, E., Huh, S., Park, J., Lee, J., Byun, S. Y., & Park, D. (2008) · Journal of Dermatological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jdermsci.2008.06.005 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Viljoen, A. M., Gono-Bwalya, A., Kamatou, G., et al. (2006) · Journal of Essential Oil Research · doi:10.1080/10412905.2006.12067117 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Self-citationIsaac, O., & Thiemer, K. (1975) · PubMed · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Perbellini, L., Gottardo, R., Caprini, A., et al. (2004) · Journal of Chromatography B · doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2004.07.046 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Perbellini, L., Gottardo, R., Caprini, A., et al. (2004) · Journal of Chromatography B · doi:10.1016/s1570-0232(04)00701-9 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Niederhofer, H. (2008) · Phytomedicine · doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2008.10.006 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Ingredients for the modern perfumery industry
Pybus, D. H., Sell, C. S., & Sell, C. S. (1999) · Royal Society of Chemistry eBooks · doi:10.1039/9781847552044-00051 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Bisabolol
(1999) · International Journal of Toxicology · doi:10.1080/109158199225161 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Chemoprotection of fertility by chamomile essential oil over the toxic effect of
Hernández-Ceruelos, A., Sánchez‐Gutiérrez, M., Mojica-Villegas, A., et al. (2007) · Toxicology Letters · doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2007.05.470 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Inhibitory effect of alpha-bisabolol on the genotoxic damage induced by daunorubicin in mouse
Álvarez‐González, I., Uc-Artigas, E., Martha Moreno, L., et al. (2006) · Toxicology Letters · doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2006.07.216 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Essential Oils: A Short Review
Miguel, M. G. (2010) · Molecules · doi:10.3390/molecules15129252 · Cited by 933 · see citing works
Nutrition, Well-Being and Health
(2012) · doi:10.5772/1864 · Cited by 178 · see citing works
Sharifi-Rad, J., Rapposelli, S., Sestito, S., Herrera-Bravo, J., Arancibia-Diaz, A., Salazar, L. A., Yeskaliyeva, B., Beyatli, A., Leyva-Gómez, G., González-Contreras, C., et al. (2022) · Journal of Personalized Medicine · doi:10.3390/jpm12091515 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Lim, H. S., Kim, S. K., Woo, S.-G., Kim, T. H., Yeom, S.-J., Yong, W., Ko, Y.-J., Kim, S.-J., Lee, S.-G., & Lee, D.-H. (2021) · Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.1c02759 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Production of (−)-α-Bisabolol in Metabolically Engineered Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
Kim, T. Y., Park, H., Kim, S.-K., Kim, S.-J., & Park, Y.-C. (2021) · Journal of Biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.jbiotec.2021.08.008 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kamatou, G. P. P., & Viljoen, A. M.
- Affiliations
- Tshwane University of Technology (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Viljoen, Alvaro M.
- Venue
- Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2009-10-29
- Volume
- 87
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-7
- ISSN
- 0003-021X (ISSN-L)
- 1558-9331
- OpenAlex
- W1998144171
- Cited by
- 357
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 8.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Sesquiterpenes and Asteraceae Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Phytochemistry and Biological Activities
- Keywords
- α-bisabolol, sesquiterpene alcohols, chamomile, anti-inflammatory activity, analgesic activity, antibacterial activity, anticancer activity, genotoxicity, mutagenicity, GRAS status, mechanism of action, medicinal plants
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
