Table 4.
Examples of conducted studies on preservation of food products by essential oils.
| Food product | Investigated essential oil | Main bioactive compounds | Key findings | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bread | Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) | (z)-Citral (62.58%), cis-verbenol (6.29%), geranyl acetate (5.36%), isoeugenol (4.52%), caryophyllene (3.91%) | The vapor of lemongrass EO (750 µl of EO/Lair) could inhibit Penicillium expansum inoculated on bread for 21 days at 20 °C. | (Mani López, Valle Vargas, Palou, & López Malo, 2018) |
| Cake | Thymus vulgaris | Thymol (53.57%), p-cymene (15.51%), limonene (7.14%), carvacrol (6.93%), trans-caryophyllene (3.26%), α-pinene (2.80%) | Addition of encapsulated thyme essential oil (0.60 mg/ml) in the cake formulation enhanced the shelf life of the product for 30 days of storage. | (Gonçalves et al., 2017) |
| Dry fruits | Mentha cardiaca L. | Carvone (59.6%), limonene (23.3%), β-myrcene (2.5%), 1,8-cineole (2.1%), β-bourbonene (1.5%), cis-dihydrocarvone (1.5%) | M. cardiaca EO showed strong antifungal activity (MIC 1.25 µl/ml) against biodeterioration fungi of dry fruits and potentially to reduce aflatoxin secretion. | (Dwivedy, Prakash, Chanotiya, Bisht, & Dubey, 2017) |
| Green gram seeds | Lippia alba | Geranial (36.94%), neral (29.32%), myrcene (18.65%), α-caryophyllene (2.07%), eugenol (1.82%), α-phelandrine (1.02%) | Utilization of a dose of 80 μl/0.25 L of Lippia alba oil in green gram seeds significantly inhibited the proliferation of fungal and production of aflatoxin B1 without affecting the seed germination rate during storage. | (Pandey, Sonker, & Singh, 2016) |
| Orangina fruit juice | Eucalyptus globulus essential oil | 1,8-cineole (94.03%), α-pinene (2.93%), γ-terpinene (1.93%), α-phellandrene (0.59%), β-pinene (0.20%), myrcene (0.19%) | EGEO (0.8 to 4 μl/ml) was effective and potent to reduce S. cerevisiae growth in the fruit juice of Orangina. | (Boukhatem et al., 2020) |
| Pineapple juice | Cymbopogon citratus D.C. Stapf. essential oil (CCEO) | Geraniol (46.16%), neral (31.74%), geranyl-acetate (4.34%), caryophyllene (2.02%), 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ona (1.77%), dipentyl-ketone (1.06%), linalool (1.03%) | The incorporation of CCEO in pineapple juice at all tested concentrations (5, 2.5, and 1.25 μl/ml) caused a decrease in viable counts of E. coli, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica. | (Leite et al., 2016) |
| Chicken breast fillets | Zingiber officinale(Ginger) | α-Zingiberene (24.96%), β-sesquiphellandrene (12.74%), sesquisabinene hydrate (6.19%), camphene (5.90%), zingiberenol (4.26%), (E)-citral (3.93%), sabinene (3.75%), (E)-farnesene (3.73%), and italicene (3.21%) | Ginger essential oils nanoemulsion (6%) significantly reduced L. monocytogenes growth in refrigerated chicken filets during 12 days of storage. | (Noori, Zeynali, & Almasi, 2018) |
| Chicken meatballs | Ziziphora clinopodioides | Carvacrol (65.22%), thymol (19.51%), p-cymene (4.86%),and γ-terpinene (4.63%) | Z. clinopodioides EO (0.3%) efficiently inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes in chicken meatball during 12 days storage 4 °C without any unfavorable sensory properties. | (Shahbazi, Karami, & Shavisi, 2018) |
| Dry Fermented Sausages | Juniperus communis L. | β-myrcene (14.12%), sabinene (9.51%), d,l-limonene (8.36%), 4-terpineol (6.88%), α-amorphene (5.43%), β-pinene (5.39%), caryophyllene (3.94%), p-cymene (3.92%), germacrene D (3.81%), | Juniperus communis EO can be utilized to control foodborne pathogens (L. monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., E. coli, and sulfite-reducing clostridia) in dry fermented sausages during storage period (225 days). The sample with 0.10 µl/g of Juniperus communis EO had untypical flavor. | (Tomović et al., 2020) |
| Ground beef | Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) | Terpinen-4-ol (43.1%), γ-terpinene (22.8%), α-terpinene (9.3%), α-terpineol (5.2%), terpinolene (3.5%), and α-pinene (3.0%) | The incorporation of 1.5% v/w Melaleuca alternifolia EO in ground beef was effective against L. monocytogenes with MIC and MBC values of 0.10 μl/g and 0.15 μl/ml, respectively. Melaleuca alternifolia EO was not significantly effective in the sample with the suspension at 1.5 × 108 CFU/ml. | (Silva, Figueiredo, Stamford, & Silva, 2019) |
| Minced beef meat | Citrus limon (lemon) | β-Pinene (25.44%), limonene (39.74%), linalool (2.16%), α-terpineol (7.30%), linalyl acetate (3.01%), acetate geranyl (3.03%), nerolidol (6.91%), acetate neryl (1.74%), and farnesol (4.28%). | The application of Citrus limon EO (0.06 and 0.312 mg/g) can be considered as a natural substance in controlling growth of L. monocytogenes during storage at 4 °C of minced beef meat. | (Ben Hsouna, Ben Halima, Smaoui, & Hamdi, 2017) |
| Sausages | Thyme essential oil | Thymol (38.2%), p-cymene (25.4%) and terpineol with γ-terpinene (16.2%), α-pinene (2.2%) | Thyme EO inhibited development of L. monocytogenes in sausages. The main constituents of thyme EO related to thymol that disrupts membrane cells and reduces the activity of ATPase of L. monocytogenes. | (Blanco-Lizarazo, Betancourt-Cortés, Lombana, Carrillo-Castro, & Sotelo-Díaz, 2017) |
| Turkey meat | Zataria multiflora Boiss and Bunium persicum Boiss | Zataria multiflora Boiss: carvacrol (51.55%), thymol (25.49%), p-cymene (5.23%), and γ-terpinene (4.44%). Bunium persicum Boiss: cumic aldehyde (38.39%), p-cymene (18.36%), and 2-caren-10-al (13.26%) | Nanoemulsion of BEO and ZEO could extend the shelf life of turkey meat to 9 days. The chitosan-loaded nanoemulsion containing ZEO 1% provided the best antimicrobial activity. Nanoemulsion containing BEO and ZEO significantly decreased the population of Salmonella Enteritidis and L. monocytogenes about 3 log CFU/g and 2 log CFU/g, respectively. | (Keykhosravy, Khanzadi, Hashemi, & Azizzadeh, 2020) |
| UHT milk | Syzygium aromaticum(clove), Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon), Myrtus communis (myrtle), and Lavandula stoechas (lavender) | Syzygium aromaticum (clove): eugenol (74.5%), caryophyllene (20.4%), aceteugenol (2.6%), β‐selinene (2%). Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon): Cinnamaldehyde (89%), camphene (3.5%), α‐terpineol (1.6%), 1,8‐cineole (1.6%). Myrtus communis (myrtle): Butanoic acid, 2-methyl, 2-methylbutyl ester (74.6%), 1,8‐cineole (11.5%), d‐limonene (6.5%), linalool (1.9%). Lavandula stoechas (lavender): camphor (35.4%), α‐fenchone (32.5%), 1,8‐cineole (7.4%), camphene (4.3%), α‐pinene (2.8%). | The combination of 2.4% S. aromaticum, 38.2% L. stoechas, and 59.4% C. zeylanicum significantly restricted the viability of E. coli to 1 × 106 CFU.ml−1. These findings are to be taken into consideration for a successful application of these essential oils as food preservatives in milk and dairy industries. | (Falleh et al., 2019) |