Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Pharmaceutical Fronts 2025; 07(03): e168-e188
DOI: 10.1055/a-2658-2217
Review Article

Volatile Oils from Natural Plants: Promising Penetration Enhancers for Biological Barriers

Authors

  • Xinyu Ma#

    1   Key Laboratory of TCM Drug Delivery, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
    2   Key Pharmacy College, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, People's Republic of China
  • Yu Jin#

    1   Key Laboratory of TCM Drug Delivery, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
    2   Key Pharmacy College, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, People's Republic of China
  • Miao Wang

    1   Key Laboratory of TCM Drug Delivery, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
    2   Key Pharmacy College, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, People's Republic of China
  • Shiyu Zong

    1   Key Laboratory of TCM Drug Delivery, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
    3   Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
  • Yunlong Cheng

    1   Key Laboratory of TCM Drug Delivery, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
    3   Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
  • Hong Zhang

    1   Key Laboratory of TCM Drug Delivery, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
    2   Key Pharmacy College, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, People's Republic of China
    3   Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
  • Wei Wu

    4   Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery of the MOE, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
  • Yi Lu

    4   Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery of the MOE, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
  • Ye Li

    1   Key Laboratory of TCM Drug Delivery, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
    2   Key Pharmacy College, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, People's Republic of China
    3   Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
  • Chunliu Wang

    1   Key Laboratory of TCM Drug Delivery, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
    3   Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, People's Republic of China

Funding This work was supported by Shaanxi Province, the second batch of Chinese medicine technology backbone talent project (Grant No. 2023-ZQNY-007), Xi'an Science and Technology Plan Project (Grant No. 22YXYJ0098), Shaanxi Provincial Key R&D Program General Project (Grant No. 2024SF-YBXM-530), and Shaanxi Youth Science Foundation Program (Grant No. 2023-JC-QN-0973).

Abstract

Drug delivery often faces challenges from biological barriers, including the skin and mucosa. Penetration enhancers (PEs) are commonly employed to improve the delivery of poorly permeable drugs. Among them, volatile oils derived from natural plants have emerged as promising candidates due to their rapid action, minimal side effects, and high efficiency. This paper provides a brief introduction to biological barriers and highlights the potential of volatile oils as PEs and their underlying mechanisms. Their role in improving transdermal and transmucosal drug delivery has been explored by a comprehensive review of recent research, which provides valuable insights into their future application in pharmaceutical formulations.

# These authors contributed equally to this work.




Publication History

Received: 16 December 2024

Accepted: 15 July 2025

Article published online:
01 September 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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