Research progress on chemical components and biological activities of volatile oils from Eucalyptus genus
Eucalyptus is an evergreen tree belonging to the Myrtaceae family and the Eucalyptus L. Herit genus. It is native to Australia, Indonesian islands, and Papua New Guinea, with 945 species and varieties. It has a high emission of volatile substances, especially in its branches and leaves, which are rich in volatile oils. However, the volatile oil content varies greatly among different species and regions. There are currently over 600 species of Eucalyptus in the world, and China has introduced Eucalyptus trees for a hundred years. Currently, Eucalyptus trees in China are mainly distributed in southern China, with Guangdong and Guangxi being the main planting areas for Eucalyptus trees, mainly used for papermaking, production of artificial boards, and extraction of eucalyptus oil. China is also one of the largest exporters of eucalyptus oil. So far, a large number of volatile chemical compounds have been discovered in Eucalyptus plants, mainly including terpenes (including monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, etc.), aliphatic compounds, aromatic compounds, and other compounds. Modern pharmacological research has confirmed that the chemical components of the volatile oil of Eucalyptus have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, improved respiratory function, insecticidal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. Scholars at home and abroad have extensively studied the chemical components and biological activities of its volatile oil. According to the author’s statistics, scholars at home and abroad have isolated and identified 948 volatile chemical components from Eucalyptus plants, including 685 terpenoids, 29 aliphatic compounds, 39 aromatic compounds, and 195 other compounds. This article provides a systematic review of the research progress on the chemical composition and biological activity of volatile oils from Eucalyptus plants in the past thirty years, providing a basis for better utilization of the medicinal value of Eucalyptus leaf resources and further in-depth research and development.

The Eucalyptus genus has abundant plant resources, but further research is needed on its chemical composition and biological activity. In recent years, researchers have conducted extensive research on the chemical composition and pharmacological activity of the volatile oil from Eucalyptus, which mainly contains terpenoids, aliphatic compounds, aromatic compounds, and other compounds. These compounds have shown good biological activities such as insecticidal and insecticidal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, local anesthesia, antioxidant, etc. In addition, they can also be used as a substitute for antibiotic growth promoters, for the preservation of sugar oranges, and as important spices. Some novel terpenoids have been found to have significant activity, but further research on their activity mechanisms has not been reported. Therefore, it is expected that there will be more studies on the physiological mechanisms of Eucalyptus in oil production in the future, so that Eucalyptus can be better applied in fields such as medicine, food, and daily chemical industry. Our research group is committed to the development and utilization of Eucalyptus plant resources, and has achieved some results. In the future, we will conduct more systematic studies on the chemical composition and biological activity of Eucalyptus plants, providing more references for the development of medicinal resources and the basic research of medicinal substances in Eucalyptus.