The importance of essential oils and their components in the industrial sector is attributed to their chemical characteristics and their application in the development of products in the areas of cosmetology, food, and pharmaceuticals. However, the pharmacological properties of this class of natural products have been extensively investigated and indicate their applicability for obtaining new drugs. Therefore, this review discusses the use of these oils as starting materials to synthesize more complex molecules and products with greater commercial value and clinic potential. Furthermore, the antiulcer, cardiovascular, and antidiabetic mechanisms of action are discussed. The main mechanistic aspects of the chemopreventive properties of oils against cancer are also presented. The data highlight essential oils and their derivatives as a strategic chemical group in the search for effective therapeutic agents against various diseases.

Monoterpenes are secondary metabolites of plants belonging to the terpenoid class of natural products. They are the most abundant components of essential oils that are generally considered to have various pharmacological properties. These compounds are reported to have antidiabetic effects in recent years. Due to natures complex biosynthetic machinery, they also exhibit a reasonable degree of structural complexity/diversity for further analysis in structure-activity studies. Therefore, monoterpenes as antidiabetic agents have been investigated by recent in vitro and in vivo studies extensively reported in the scientific literature and claimed by patent documents. The purpose of this survey is to provide a comprehensive and prospective review concerning the potential applications of monoterpenes in the treatment of diabetes. The data for this research were collected through the specialized databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect between the years 2014 and 2022, as well as the patent databases EPO, WIPO, and USPTO. The research used 76 articles published in the leading journals in the field. The main effect observed was the antidiabetic activity of monoterpenes. This review showed that monoterpenes can be considered promising agents for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes as well as have a marked pharmaceutical potential for the development of bioproducts for therapeutics applications.

Introduction: Probiotics are living microorganisms that when administered in appropriate amounts, provide several benefits such as prevention of infections, relief of allergic symptoms and lactose intolerance, control of serum cholesterol, blood pressure and gestational diabetes, reduction of gastrointestinal disorders, production of beneficial compounds such as vitamins, short chain fatty acids, and such microorganisms show evidence of actions against certain types of cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the evidence available in the literature on probiotics on breast cancer. Methods: It is an integrative review of the literature, through the PICO strategy, with the guiding question “Does probiotics consumption act on oxidative stress and reduces the risk of breast cancer”? The selection of articles was made on MEDLINE, SciELO and PubMed, including those published between 2016 and 2021, using the keywords: “breast cancer” AND “probiotics” AND “microbiota” their combinations in Portuguese and English, with with previously established inclusion criteria. Results and Discussion: The sample consisted of ten articles, and the answers found were: scientific research in vivo and in vitro, with some variations of probiotics strains, where all demonstrate actions and/or effects on cancer cells or acted on metabolic pathways mitigating the development of tumors. Conclusions: The manifested potential for a possible insertion in the treatment and prevention of breast cancer, being considered an innovation for the scientific community that still fights against various types of problems related to human health, especially some types of cancers, of negative prognoses and with difficult therapeutic interventions.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder of multiple etiologies, which is mainly characterized by persistently high levels of glucose in the blood. Estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that approximately 422 million people have diabetes and 1.6 million deaths are directly attributed to the disease each year. Faced with such relevant numbers, natural therapies are sought that are effective, efficient and low-cost for the referred pathology. Several natural products are already being used as adjuvants in the treatment of diabetes because they have hypoglycemic action, such as monoterpenes. However, there is a strong intention to expand the portfolio of natural products with hypoglycemic compounds. Thus, the objective of this study was to list information from the literature on diabetes and the applicability of natural products, emphasizing the antidiabetic action of the monoterpenes R-(+)-Limonene and (-)-Carveol. A narrative review was performed. The selected articles were directed to the pathophysiological parameters of diabetes and its complications, aspects of the use of natural products, monoterpenes and their therapeutic effects as antidiabetic agents. The research was carried out in the following databases: PubMed, Scielo, Portal Periódicos Capes, Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct. Studies show that diabetes is a complex disease that causes a series of complications and can be treated with oral hypoglycemic agents, insulin, diet and physical activity. Researches related to R-(+)-Limonene and (-)-Carveol, in rats, showed positive results with antidiabetic action, acting in the reduction of the plasmatic levels of glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol and of the expression of inflammatory markers, as well as in the increased effect of antioxidant enzymes. However, studies involving these monoterpenes are still incipient, making this research timely. Thus, R-(+)-Limonene and (-)-Carveol are promising candidates for further research to elucidate their therapeutic effects alone or in combination with other antidiabetic monoterpenes.