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Peer-reviewedCC BYMolecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Essential Oils as Plant-Derived Bioherbicides: Prospects for Sustainable Weed Management—A Narrative Review

  • Amra Bratovčić1
  • Juliana Navarro Rocha2
  • Ferdinando Branca3
  • Donata Arena3
  • Anja Vieweger4
  • Milica Aćimović5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Faculty of Technology, University of Tuzla, Urfeta Vejzagića 8, 75000 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  2. 2Department of Plant Science, Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), Avda. Montanana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
  3. 3Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
  4. 4Department of Crop Sciences, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Ackerstrasse 113, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
  5. 5Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops Novi Sad (IFVCNS)—National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
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Abstract

Growing herbicide resistance and concerns regarding the environmental and health impacts of synthetic herbicides have intensified interest in plant-derived weed-management products. This review assesses the phytotoxic, herbicidal, and allelopathic potential of essential oils, emphasizing efficacy, selectivity, formulation, and delivery. Relevant literature was identified through searches of Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, using terms related to essential oils, phytotoxicity, allelopathy, herbicidal activity, and weed management, followed by critical comparison of selected studies. Essential oils from diverse aromatic plants inhibited weed germination and growth through mechanisms including membrane disruption, pigment degradation, oxidative imbalance, and altered antioxidant activity. Species- and genus-specific evidence highlights the considerable chemical diversity of essential oils and identifies numerous compounds and formulation strategies with potential for bioherbicide development. Activity varied according to chemical composition, concentration, formulation, application conditions, and target species. Nanoemulsions, nanocapsules, and cyclodextrin-based systems have been investigated to improve stability, controlled release, and delivery, although improved formulation properties do not necessarily translate into greater herbicidal efficacy. Although some formulations achieved substantial weed suppression with limited crop injury, reported cytogenotoxicity, effects on soil microbial activity, and phytotoxicity at high concentrations highlight the need for further evaluation of potential non-target effects. The available evidence is still dominated by laboratory studies, while field-scale validation remains limited. Essential-oil-based bioherbicides are promising components of integrated weed management, but their practical development requires standardized formulations, mechanistic studies, field-scale validation, economic assessment, regulatory support, and comprehensive evaluation of crop and environmental safety.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{bratovcic2026essential,
  title = {{Essential Oils as Plant-Derived Bioherbicides: Prospects for Sustainable Weed Management—A Narrative Review}},
  author = {Amra Bratovčić and Juliana Navarro Rocha and Ferdinando Branca and Donata Arena and Anja Vieweger and Milica Aćimović},
  journal = {Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3390/molecules31193532},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13667186},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Essential Oils as Plant-Derived Bioherbicides: Prospects for Sustainable Weed Management—A Narrative Review
AU  - Amra Bratovčić
AU  - Juliana Navarro Rocha
AU  - Ferdinando Branca
AU  - Donata Arena
AU  - Anja Vieweger
AU  - Milica Aćimović
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
DO  - 10.3390/molecules31193532
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13667186
AB  - Growing herbicide resistance and concerns regarding the environmental and health impacts of synthetic herbicides have intensified interest in plant-derived weed-management products. This review assesses the phytotoxic, herbicidal, and allelopathic potential of essential oils, emphasizing efficacy, selectivity, formulation, and delivery. Relevant literature was identified through searches of Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, using terms related to essential oils, phytotoxicity, allelopathy, herbicidal activity, and weed management, followed by critical comparison of selected studies. Essential oils from diverse aromatic plants inhibited weed germination and growth through mechanisms including membrane disruption, pigment degradation, oxidative imbalance, and altered antioxidant activity. Species- and genus-specific evidence highlights the considerable chemical diversity of essential oils and identifies numerous compounds and formulation strategies with potential for bioherbicide development. Activity varied according to chemical composition, concentration, formulation, application conditions, and target species. Nanoemulsions, nanocapsules, and cyclodextrin-based systems have been investigated to improve stability, controlled release, and delivery, although improved formulation properties do not necessarily translate into greater herbicidal efficacy. Although some formulations achieved substantial weed suppression with limited crop injury, reported cytogenotoxicity, effects on soil microbial activity, and phytotoxicity at high concentrations highlight the need for further evaluation of potential non-target effects. The available evidence is still dominated by laboratory studies, while field-scale validation remains limited. Essential-oil-based bioherbicides are promising components of integrated weed management, but their practical development requires standardized formulations, mechanistic studies, field-scale validation, economic assessment, regulatory support, and comprehensive evaluation of crop and environmental safety.
SN  - 1420-3049
ER  -