**Author details**

*Essential Oils - Oils of Nature*

**3.6 Tuberculosis**

**3.7 HIV/AIDS**

**4. Conclusion**

cinnamaldehyde, and allyl isothiocyanate were used to optimize the effect of the available drugs against some of the pathogens with successful results [78].

Tuberculosis is the infection of the lung by *Mycobacterium tuberculosis*, and it caused 1.3 million deaths in 2016. Many drugs are available, and control by quarantining the affected person had caused a reduction in this affection during the last 19 years [57]. Essential oils can also play an important role in the management of this affection. In fact, *Salvia aratocensis*, *Lippia Americana*, *Turnera diffusa* [81], *Cuminum cyminum*, *Eugenia caryophyllata*, *Cinnamomum verum*, *Laurus nobilis*, *Pimpinella anisum* [82], and *Hyptis suaveolens* [83], among others have been analyses

HIV/AIDS is the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, caused by human immunodeficiency virus. The disease is the ninth more important terrorist worldwide, killing in 2016 1 million persons [57]. The mortality due to this virus has decreased along the years due to the generations of antiretrovirals as well as the protective measures adopted by the populations. There are only a few publications available on the effect of the essential oils on this virus. The reason can be the fact that this virus is very dangerous, and the testing equipment must be sophisticated to allow this test. However, *Ridolfia segetum* and *Oenanthe crocata* have been analyzed successfully for

their effect on RNA-dependent DNA polymerase and ribonuclease H [84].

Essential oils are the oil of nature, sent by nature, the spirit of nature, and the soul of the forest. Their scent depends on their composition that in turn depends on the enzymatic package of the plant species. This enzymatic package can be influenced by external factors that can be biotic, depending on a living organism, or abiotic depending on molecules or climate and geography. The pharmacological potential of this spirit of the forest is a fact. But the scientific proof of that fact is subject to misunderstanding or misinterpretation. That may be why it is difficult to have essential oil recommended as an official drug for a disease. In fact, there are many variations that could affect the chemical composition not in the plant but during essential oil processes from plant collection time to the analytic method and the data interpretation. As well, Aromatic plants containing these scent of the nature are mostly present in tropical part of the word, and most of those tropical countries are developing countries and as such they do not have robust technology equipment to test and prove the whole efficiency of that essential oils, spirit of nature. To solve these small but crucial issues, scientists should come along with a robust analytical tool (FTIR, for example) and standard postharvest and extraction protocols for standardization of all essential oils not only in few local pharmacopeias but on a

successfully for their effect against *Mycobacterium tuberculosis*.

**26**

world level.

**Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Jean Baptiste Hzounda Fokou1 \*, Pierre Michel Jazet Dongmo2 and Fabrice Fekam Boyom3

1 Antimicrobial and Biocontrol Agent Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Yaoundé I, Yaounde, Cameroon

2 Department of Biochemistry University Douala, Douala, Cameroon

3 Anti-Microbial and Biocontrol Agent Unit, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon

\*Address all correspondence to: hzoundafokou@gmail.com

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
