Objective To integrate the correlation between the administration routes of traditional Chinese medicine essential oils and diseases, as well as their core biomarkers in disease treatment, analyze their pathways and mechanisms of action on the body, and promote the rational application and innovative development of traditional Chinese medicine essential oils. Methods China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), VIP Information(VIP), Wanfang Data, Web of Science were used to analyze the distribution of administration routes for traditional Chinese herbal essential oils and the types of diseases treated. The correlation between different administration routes and disease types was examined, along with frequency statistics of biomarkers involved in the therapeutic process. After identifying the most closely associated biomarkers, their mechanisms of action in disease treatment by traditional Chinese herbal essential oils were analyzed. Results Among all administration routes, oral administration accounted for 66.23%, inhalation for 21.37%, topical application for 8.18%, intraperitoneal injection for 3.17%, and intravenous injection for 1.06%. The disease types most strongly associated with oral and inhalation routes were neurological and psychiatric disorders, while those most associated with topical application were skin diseases and immune-related conditions. Intraperitoneal injection showed the strongest association with tumor diseases. Among biomarkers appearing more than 10 times, those related to oxidative stress regulation included malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and superoxide dismutase (SOD); those involved in inflammatory response regulation included tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and IL-8; those associated with apoptosis regulation included B-cell lymphoma-2 associated X protein (Bax), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), and cysteinasparate protease-3 (Caspase-3); and those involved in neural regulation included 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), norepinephrine (NE), and acetylcholinesterase (AchE). Conclusion Traditional Chinese medicine essential oils enter the human body through three primary routes: inhalation, transdermal absorption and oral administratio to exert their biological effects. They can exert effects via by regulating multiple mechanisms such as oxidative stress, neurotransmitter, inflammatory responses, and apoptosis, demonstrating significant advantages in disease prevention and treatment.

traditional Chinese medicine  /  essential oils  /  biomarker  /  route of administration  /  therapeutic mechanism  /  oxidative stress  /  neurotransmitter  /  cell apoptosis