Table 8.

Application of citral in foods.

Food System	Structural Matrix and Dose	Effect	Ref.
Kiwifruit	Citral, 600 µL/L	Extension of postharvest quality by enhancing antioxidant capacity.	[82]
Bread	230 mg/mL each, citral and eugenol	Antifungal activity on A. niger and shelf life extension.	[16]
Fruit juices	Citral and vanillin, 100 and 1000 mg/L, respectively, and UV-C treatment	5-log growth reduction of E. coli, L. plantarum, and S. cerevisiae.	[131]
Fresh-cut pineapples	Alginate-based coating containing citral nanoemulsions at 0.1–0.5%	Reduced microbial growth and improved shelf life quality.	[130]
Shatangju Mandarin	Liposome-nanoencapsulated citral at 125 g/L	Shelf life extension and antimicrobial effect on E. coli, B. subtilis, S. aureus, and P. italicum.	[129]
Tomato fruit	1-methylcyclopropene and citral, 1.0 µL/L and 5.8 µL, respectively	Suppression of spore germination and mycelia growth of Botrytis cinerea.	[132]
Fresh chicken fillets	Kafirin-based films incorporating 1.25% citral and 1.0% quercetin	Antimicrobial activity against total viable count and improvement of quality.	[133]
Ground beef	1% citral and high-pressure homogenization treatment	Promoted inactivation of E. coli and improved the high-pressure homogenization treatment.	[15]
Ground beef	1%, 2%, and 3% of citral and temperature (55, 57.5, 60, and 62.5 °C)	The combination of citral and temperature significantly reduced the concentration of E. coli at all tested temperatures.	[17]
Fresh-cut apple	Pectin-based coatings enriched with 0.15% citral.	Control of microbial spoilage and preservation of fruit quality.	[14]
Raspberry	Pectin-based coatings enriched with 0.15% citral and 0.1% eugenol	Control of microbial spoilage and preservation of fruit quality.	[134]
Strawberry	Pectin-based coatings enriched with 0.15% citral and alginate-based coatings enriched with 0.15% citral and 0.1% eugenol.	Better sensorial qualities.	[134]
Fresh-cut apples	125 mg/L each, citral and hexanal+2-(E)-hexenal	Inhibition of yeast spoilage and shelf life and quality extension.	[135]
Apricot juice	50 mg/L citral and high-pressure homogenization treatment	Inhibition of S. cerevisiae SPA.	[136]
Packaged salad	7.5% of citral in an antimicrobial active bag of EVOH	Reduced the number of lactic acid bacteria.	[137]
Cabbage and chicken skin	0.03 and 0.06% of citral	Antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes and S. aureus in cabbage.	[138]
Fish cubes	0.5–3.0% of citral	Antimicrobial effect against S. typhimurium.	[13]

EVOH: Ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers.