Volatiles are substances that are gases at room temperature.Including hydrogen, helium, ammonia, carbon dioxide and methane.Volatiles are contained in pigments, etc.
Research progress on health function of forest volatiles
brief introduction
Forest volatiles refer to plant volatilessecondary metabolismPathway synthesisrelative molecular massAbout 100-200Volatile organic compounds（BVOCs）。Plants can emit about 1035TgC of BVOCs into the atmosphere every year, accounting for more than 90% of the global emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).On a small scale, as an important "tool" for information transmission between plants, BVOCs can resist environmental stress, affect seed germination and plant growth, induce defense against insects through direct or indirect effects, and inhibit microbial growth;On a large scale, it passes through a series ofRedox reactionChanging the chemical composition of the troposphere has a certain impact on global climate change, terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle, the formation of photochemical smog, etc. BVOCs are the current research focus in biological science, environmental science, health science, chemical ecology and other fields.
Benefits to human body
The health care function of forest environment on human body is the synergistic effect of various environmental factors (such as temperature, humidity, air, light, sound, etc.), which mainly affects human body through five senses (vision, smell, hearing, touch, and taste).Among them, some organic compounds in forest volatiles that are beneficial to human body are also called Fendoxin（Phytobiocide）Or plant essence, which is one of the core elements of forest recuperation research.
Li Qing believed that phenanthroline mainly affects human physiology through olfactory processing.The mechanism of its impact on the human body has not yet been determined, but the mainstream view is that on the one hand, Fendoxin enters the upper body blood circulation through the capillaries in the nasal passage and enters the brain to stimulatecentral nervous systemThe hypothalamus regulates gland secretion;On the other hand, by stimulating the thalamus, we approach the limbic system of the brain, which controls human emotions, in the way of brain electrical activity conduction.At present, the research on the human health care function of Fendoxin mainly focuses on anti-cancer, regulating blood pressure, relieving mental disorders, etc. There are also some studies on reducing blood sugar, relieving pain, and antispasmodic.[1]
Fendoxin
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Anticancer effect
The research on the anticancer mechanism of Fendoxin mainly includes two aspects: how to prevent cancer and how to treat cancer.Li et al. counted the forest coverage data of all counties and districts in Japan, as well as lung cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, colon cancerprostatic cancerThe standard mortality rate (SMR) data of breast cancer and uterine cancer patients found that the SMR of cancer patients living in low forest coverage areas was higher than that of patients living in high forest coverage areas. The forest coverage rate was significantly negatively correlated with the SMR of cancer patients.This finding points out that high forest coverage may contribute to the reduction of cancer mortality.At present, some studies have proved that the essential oil isolated from natural products has the functions of enhancing immune function, anti-oxidation, anti proliferation and anti mutation. Its main mechanisms involved in cancer treatment include inducing apoptosis of cancer cells, blocking cancer cell cycle, anti metastasis and anti angiogenesis, activating detoxification enzymes, repairing DNA and signaling.Li et al. have found through years of research that Fendoxin in forest environment can significantly improve human immune function and enhanceNatural killer cells(NK cells) activity, increase the number of cells, perforation number, number of particles dissolved in cells and number of cells expressing granzyme A/B, and reduceadrenaline(E) And norepinephrine (NE).The anticancer protein released by NK cells can effectively kill tumor cells. Inhalation of Fendoxin can effectively prevent and treat tumor cells（chemotherapy、RadiotherapyAnd so on) to treat cancer together.
Research shows that oxidative stress can not only cause digestive systemcardiovascular system, nervous systemimmune system, skin and other diseases, and can damage DNA, activate proto oncogenes, cause abnormalities of various signal molecules in cells, resulting incell canceration。VegetalTerpenoidIt can eliminate DPPH free radicals and has strong antioxidant effect in preventing DNA oxidative damage and intracellular lipids.Fendoxin can inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells and induce apoptosis of cancer cells.Lavender essential oilVolatile components (mainly linaloolLinalyl acetateEtc.) with inhibitionHepG2 cellsProliferation, and can induce apoptosis;Curcumin and its derivatives as well as the volatile components of chlorella essential oil (mainly hexadecane, acetic acidethyl acetate, toluene, etc.) can not only inhibit the proliferation of colon cancer cells, but also block the cancer cell cycle and induce apoptosis;Ginsenoside Rg3 has anti proliferation effect on hepatoma cells QGY and HepG2, and can induce apoptosis;More scholars have proved that sulfur compounds (such as allicin) andtriterpenoidIt can not only fight cancercell proliferationIt can also inhibit telomerase activity and make cancer cells stop replicating after a limited number of divisions.
Research shows that tea polyphenolsResveratrol, d-limonene and other ingredients have strong anti-cancer and antimutagenic effects, and have a certain degree of inhibition on each stage of tumor formation. They can not only be used as antimutagenic agents, but also as antimutagenic agents;It can inhibit the entry of mutagens into cells, inhibit the formation of mutagen precursors and the metabolic activation of mutagens, promote error free DNA repair and reduce error repair, and induce and activate the activity of detoxification enzymes in cells.
Regulate blood pressure
Some scholars have studied whether Fendoxin can affect human blood pressure, and found that some compounds can reduce blood pressure and raise blood pressure.Gao Xiang et al. studied 18 species of lavender, lemon eucalyptus, juniper, etcaromatic plantAfter smelling the fragrance, the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure of the subjects decreased significantly;Sweet orange essential oil (mainly composed of d-limoneneα - pineneLinalool, etc.) andLavender essential oilCan significantly reduce human bodymean arterial pressure； The main components of the essential oil of Lysimachia odorata are piperinone, cis-5-methyl-2 - (1-methylethyl) cyclohexanone and octane, which can significantly reduce the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats.
The mechanism of Fendoxin in lowering blood pressure has not been determined. At present, there are two main aspects in the study of the mechanism of lowering blood pressure: first, Fendoxin enters through olfactory processingcentral nervous systemIt plays a role in lowering blood pressure, but it is not clear whether it directly acts on the vascular regulation center or indirectly regulates blood pressure.Studies have shown that one of the causes of hypertension is the hyperactivity of the renal sympathetic nervous system, and the excitability of the sympathetic nervous system is positively correlated with the level of blood pressure.Fendoxin can significantly reduce the concentration of E and NE in urine (which can be used to evaluate sympathetic nerve activity), inhibit sympathetic nerve activity, and enhanceparasympatheticActivities.Second, inhaling Fendoxin can relieve the mental and physical tension of hypertensive patients (such as the decrease of skeletal muscle and vascular tension), improve the disorder of the body, stabilize the autonomic nervous activity (sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves), and lead to the decrease of blood pressure.It is also worth noting that not all naturalVolatile organic compoundsAll the ingredients have the effect of lowering blood pressure, such as grapefruit essential oil (mainly composed of d-limonene, myrcene, etc.) and rosemary essential oil (mainly composed ofα - pinene, 1,8-cineole, etc.) can inhibit parasympathetic nerve activity, enhance sympathetic nerve activity, and raise hypertension, which has certain guiding significance for the treatment of patients with hypotension.However, whether the change of blood pressure is due to the effect of a single organic component or the synergistic effect of various components remains to be studied.
Relieve mental disorders
It is believed in medicine that depression is related to the imbalance of monoamine neurotransmitter system in the brain, and antidepressants can rapidly increase the level of monoamine in the brain, such as5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT), NE, dopamine (DA), etc.It has been found that some Fendoxin can also enhanceMonoamine neurotransmittersTo improve depressive symptoms, such as frankincense essential oil (mainly composed of linaloolOctyl acetateLavender essential oil and rosemary essential oil have significant antidepressant effect.Zhang Yeqi et al. found that frankincense essential oil could improve the behavior of chronic unpredictable stress depression mice by gavage, and the content of 5-HT in the brain of mice was significantly increased;Liu Yao and others used frankincense essential oil volatiles in combination with moxibustion to treat patients with depression, and found that patients after treatmentHamilton Depression Scale(HAMD) score and plasma 5-HT content increased significantly;Niu Lihua et al found that inhaling lavender essential oil could improve the behavior of chronic unpredictable stress depression mice, and the expression of 5-HT in the hypothalamus, amygdala and hippocampus of mice was significantly increased;Tong Gui et al. conducted the live scent test of rosemary in mice with two kinds of depression models, and rosemary aroma improved the behavior of mice;Sasaki and others believed that rosemaryMurine oxalic acidRosmarinic acid, luteolin, etc. can increase the neurotransmitters NE, DA, 5-HTacetylcholine(ACh) level.
Other health functions
It is reported that the plant Fenduojing not only has the effects of anti-cancer, regulating blood pressure, relieving mental disorders, but also has the effects of reducing blood sugar, relieving pain, and antispasmodic.At present, there is little research on the hypoglycemic mechanism of Fendoxine at home and abroad, and further research is needed.Ohtsuka et al. found that walking in the forest can significantly reduce the blood sugar of diabetic patients, and believed that the forest environment changed the human hormone secretion andAutonomic nervous systemFunction, he speculates that it is related to increased calorie consumption and insulin sensitivity;Li Qing conducted an experiment on the effect of walking in forest environment on human blood sugarType 2 diabetesThe blood glucose measurement of the patient before and after the "forest bath" found that walking in the forest environment can significantly reduce the blood glucose value of the human body. He believed that in addition to walking can reduce the blood glucose level, the phendolamine in the forest is also related to the decline of blood glucose level.[1]
Research prospect
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At present, there are few studies on the health care function of forest environment on human body at home and abroad, and a complete theoretical system has not been formed. The health care mechanism of forest environment on human body has not been clearly defined.As one of the most important elements of forest recuperation, forest volatiles should also pay attention to the following two points:
First, the determination of beneficial and harmful components of forest volatiles.The identification of forest volatile components has been carried out for many years at home and abroad, and the volatile components of common landscaping trees have been basically established.However, in what concentration range, which components play a health function on human body, and the synergistic effect between plant volatiles have yet to be explored.
Second, in-depth research on the timeliness of forest volatile health care.The health care effects of forest volatiles are obvious to all. At present, most studies focus on whether the volatiles can produce health care effects, but the timeliness of their health care functions is rarely studied.
To sum up, the research on the health care function of forest volatiles at home and abroad is still in the preliminary stage of exploration. There are more studies on individual volatiles of plants, less studies on the synergy between plant volatiles, more studies on the health care function of plant essential oil volatiles, less studies on the health care function of living plant volatiles, and more studies on the health care effect of plant volatilesThere is little research on health care mechanism.To solve these problems, it requires the cooperation of multidisciplinary scholars such as clinical medicine, forest product chemistry, psychology, etc., to study the basic theory of the health care function of forest volatiles, and summarize a set of health care forest volatiles index system with strong operability and guiding significance, which provides a theoretical basis for the development of China's forest recuperation industry.[1]
