AUTHOR=Tan Ji Wei , Israf Daud Ahmad , Tham Chau Ling 

TITLE=Major Bioactive Compounds in Essential Oils Extracted From the Rhizomes of Zingiber zerumbet (L) Smith: A Mini-Review on the Anti-allergic and Immunomodulatory Properties

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2018.00652

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2018.00652

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Zingiber zerumbet (L) Smith</italic> is part of the <italic>Zingiberaceae</italic> family, one of the largest families of the plant kingdom. <italic>Z. zerumbet</italic> is a perennial, aromatic and tuberose plant that grows in humid locations where its center of distribution is located in the South-East Asia region. This plant has been traditionally used in foods and beverages and for ornamental purposes. Although many studies have reported on the biomedical applications of <italic>Z. zerumbet</italic>, the anti-allergic effects of <italic>Z. zerumbet</italic> and its major bioactive compounds have not yet been summarized in detail. Many major metabolites that have been reported to contain anti-allergic properties are terpene compounds which can be found in the essential oil extracted from the rhizomes of <italic>Z. zerumbet</italic>, such as zerumbone, limonene, and humulene. The rhizome is among the part of <italic>Z. zerumbet</italic> that has been widely used for many studies due to its exceptional biomedical applications. Most of these studies have shown that the essential oil, which can be obtained through hydro-distillation of the rhizomes from <italic>Z. zerumbet</italic>, is enriched with various active metabolites. Therefore, this mini-review provides an overview of the main aspects related to the anti-allergic and immunomodulatory properties of the major bioactive compounds found in the essential oils extracted from the rhizomes of <italic>Z. zerumbet</italic>, with the aim of demonstrating the importance of essential oil extracted from the rhizomes of <italic>Z. zerumbet</italic> and its bioactive compounds in the treatment of allergy and allergy-related diseases, in addition to other widely reported and extensively studied biomedical applications.</p>