The College of Food and Agriculture at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) approved a PhD dissertation presented by Suzan Marwan Shahin and supervised by Dr. Mohammed Abdul Mohsen AlYafei, Associate Professor in Aridland Agriculture Department, at a defense attended by faculty members and students.

Speaking on the importance of the study, Ms. Shahin explained, “nowadays, with the growing trends of healthy lifestyle and enormous research-based discoveries, essential oils became a popular, attractive topic for both research and industry, with revenues reaching billions of dollars annually”.

Ms. Shahin showcased the databank, incorporating all the UAE 136 essential oil-bearing plants, which is about 17% of the total local plants. The dissertation highlighted the medicinal value of the essential oils extracted from of Cleome amblyocarpa Barr. & Murb. (Cleomaceae) local plants, and explored in vitro the antioxidant activity of these plants.

The study also recommended that more detailed research be conducted to do laboratory and clinical testing of the therapeutic characteristics of essential oils extracted from UAE local plants.

A number of research on the dissertation has been published in international journals concerned with desert plants and essential oils.