Background:Elsholtzia belongs to the Labiatae family, which consists of herbaceous
subshrubs and shrubs. Among them, volatile oils are an important chemical component in
Elsholtzia, which have various bioactive medicinal and developmental valuesMethods:The references about volatile oils of Elsholtzia in this review were obtained from
Web of Science, SciFinder, PubMed, Willy, Elsevier, SpringLink, ACS publications, Google
Scholar, Baidu Scholar, Scopus, and CNKI. The other information about Elsholtzia was obtained
from classical works or ancient books.Results:Traditionally, the volatile oils from Elsholtzia were used in Chinese medicine to treat
cholera, abdominal pain, vomiting, and scattered edema. Relevant research revealed that
Elsholtzia contains many different types of volatile oils, and most of them display bioactivities,
including anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, hypolipidemic, insecticidal, and antiinflammatory
activities, treating spleen and stomach. Furthermore, the applications of volatile
oils were summarized and analyzed in this paper.Conclusion:The contents of traditional use, constituent analysis, bioactivity, and application of
volatile oils from Elsholtzia were reviewed in this paper. This will provide important research
value and a scientific basis for the in-depth study of the plants of Elsholtzia in the future.