Abstract
Essential oils are used for various purposes, especially therapeutic ones, and for that they need to be produced with safety, quality and effectiveness, a regulatory challenge. In this sense, the objective was to analyze the general and regulatory aspects of essential oils for therapeutic purposes. For this, this review was divided into two parts, a literature review, and the other, exploratory research in the regulatory area of herbal medicines. This research revisited the history, therapeutic properties, and market of essential oils, noting their importance linked to regulatory aspects. These, which must follow a regulatory rite of RDC n. 26/2014, but which have gaps, since there are inconsistencies such as the lack of aromatic medicinal plants in Brazilian regulatory compendia, low stimulus for research and development of essential oils from native plants and a specific legislation for quality control, resulting in products containing fraudulent essential oils, putting the health of the Brazilian population at risk. In this way, this research reveals the need for the Brazilian regulatory agency to revisit the regulation of specific herbal medicines, especially about essential oils, making this registration more feasible, stimulating then, because technological research, development and innovation in essential oils intended for therapeutic purposes.