Open Access Review Article Raja et al., Pharm Anal Acta 2015, 6:5 DOI: 10.4172/2153-2435.1000367 Volume 6 • Issue 5 • 1000367 Pharm Anal Acta ISSN: 2153-2435 PAA, an open access journal *Corresponding author: Santanu Kar Mahapatra, Assistant Professor Research, Medicinal Chemistry and Immunology Lab, ASK-II,Department of Biotechnology, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur–613401, Tamilnadu, India, Tel: +91–4362–264101; E-mail: santanu@scbt.sastra.edu Received April 15, 2015; Accepted April 29, 2015; Published May 06, 2015 Citation: Raja MRC, Srinivasan V, Selvaraj S, Mahapatra SK (2015) Versatile and Synergistic Potential of Eugenol: A Review. Pharm Anal Acta 6: 367. doi:10.4172/21532435.1000367 Copyright: © 2015 Raja MRC, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Eugenol (1-allyl-4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzene) is the phenolic component of essential oil and the main constituent of Eugenia caryophyllata, Ocimmum gratissimum and several others medicinal plant. In view of its non- mutagenic and non-carcinogenic properties, eugenol is generally regarded as safe by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Eugenol has been recently shown to be effective for antimicrobials and treatment of different life threatening diseases including sepsis, leishmaniasis, and cancer. However overall, activity of eugenol is not discussed elsewhere. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of the mechanisms involved the antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer and anti-infammatory potential of eugenol. Versatile and Synergistic Potential of Eugenol: A Review Mamilla R Charan Raja, Varsha Srinivasan, Sharmila Selvaraj and Santanu Kar Mahapatra* Medicinal Chemistry and Immunology Lab, ASK-II, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613401, Tamil Nadu, India Keywords: Eugenol; Antioxidant; Antimicrobials; Anticancer; Anti- infammatory potential Introduction Eugenol, a phenolic photochemical extracted from certain essential oils especially from clove oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf; possess a range of antimicrobials to anticancer activity. As it is extracted from the buds and leaves of Eugenia caryophyllata (clove) for the frst time mainly, it’s named as eugenol. Now a day, eugenol can also be synthesized in laboratory scale and industrial scale by allylation of guaiacol with allyl chloride having the similar kind of functional property [1]. Being a major component in the extracts of various medicinal herbs it got much attention by the researchers and opened up a wide area of research in applying it as a medicine to cure various diseases. Eugenol is known to have several pharmacological properties i.e, anaesthetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antihelmintic, anti-infammatory, anticarcinogenic, antifumigant, and antirepellent properties. It has been in use as a traditional remedy for toothache and also for culinary purposes. Tis versatile molecule is a key ingredient in perfumes, cosmetics, favorings agents. Both the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have allowed an acceptable daily intake of eugenol of 2.5 mg/kg body weight for humans [2]. Moreover, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have proclaimed eugenol as safe and it is considered non-carcinogenic and non-mutagenic. In recent years, eugenol has fascinated the attention of researchers due to its anti-infammatory and chemopreventive activity, as well as its superior anti-oxidant activity [3-6]. As a result of its broad range of pharmacological and biological activities, studies on eugenol and clove products still remains a research priority. It is therefore of signifcant value to rationally unite some of the most worth mentioning research fndings related to eugenol to highlight its importance in human health as well as to elucidate its mechanisms of action where possible. Physical and chemical properties of Eugenol Eugenol belongs to a class of phenylpropanoids (C 10 H 12 O 2 ). Te IUPAC name of the compound is 4-Allyl-2-methoxyphenol (Figure 1), having molecular mass 164.2g/mol with pKa=10.19 at 25°C. Eugenol and isoeugenol are the two isoform of it. It is also known as caryophyllic acid, allylguaiacol, 2-methoxy-4-(2-propenyl) phenol, 4-allylcatechol- 2-methyl ether. Te phenolic group confers the antioxidant property of it. It is partially soluble in water and its solubility increases with organic solvents. Te colour of the compound ranges from clear to pale yellow [1,7]. Eugenol absorbed via small intestine when administered orally and rapidly distributed in all organ when administered intraperitoneally. According to Tompson et al. (1991), metabolism of eugenol resulted in the formation of conjugates with sulfate, glucuronic acid (major) and glutathione studied in vitro with 1mM concentration (lethal dose). Eugenol is eliminated and excreted as expired CO 2 and through urine studied in rabbit model (WHO, Food additive series 17 Eugenol, 1980). Plant sources of Eugenol Eugenol is extracted from several aromatic plants. Beside the Eugenia caryophyllata, it is also isolated from Myristica fragrans, Cinnamomum tamala, Zygium aromaticum, Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum grattisimum, Ocimum tenuiforum, Pimenta racemosa etc. However, the principal source is clove oil which contains 45–90% eugenol of its constituent (Table 1) [1,8-10]. Isolation of Eugenol from plant Eugenol was frst isolated in 1929 and commercial production Figure 1: Chemical Structure of Eugenol. P h a r m a c e u t i c a A n a l y t i c a A c t a ISSN: 2153-2435 Pharmaceutica Analytica Acta