Citrus essential oils: Extraction, authentication and application in food preservation

Abstract

Citrus EOs is an economic, eco-friendly and natural alternatives to chemical preservatives and other synthetic antioxidants, such as sodium nitrites, nitrates or benzoates, commonly utilized in food preservation. Citrus based EOs is obtained mainly from the peels of citrus fruits which are largely discarded as wastes and cause environmental problems. The extraction of citrus oils from the waste peels not only saves environment but can be used in various applications including food preservation. The present article presents elaborated viewpoints on the nature and chemical composition of different EOs present in main citrus varieties widely grown across the globe; extraction, characterization and authentication techniques/methods of the citrus EOs; and reviews the recent advances in the application of citrus EOs for the preservation of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and processed food stuffs. The probable reaction mechanism of the EOs based thin films formation with biodegradable polymers is presented. Other formulation, viz., EOs microencapsulation incorporating biodegradable polymers, nanoemulsion coatings, spray applications and antibacterial action mechanism of the active compounds present in the EOs have been elaborated. Extensive research is required on overcoming the challenges regarding allergies and obtaining safer dosage limits. Shift towards greener technologies indicate optimistic future towards safer utilization of citrus based EOs in food preservation.

Antioxidant Effect of Nanoemulsions Based on Citrus Peel Essential Oils: Prevention of Lipid Oxidation in Trout

“…Mahato et al. [ 26 ] indicated that droplets of size EO based nanoemulsions range from 20 and 200 nm. Joe et al.…”

Recent advances in orange oil extraction: an opportunity for the valorisation of orange peel waste a review

“…Orange oil has been widely used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Recently, its applicability has been explored for food preservation, antimicrobial packaging, flavouring, and pest control (Mahato et al ., ; Vinceković et al ., ). It is also one of the common flavouring agents in the food industry and has been used in several products such as ice creams and flavoured drinks (Virot et al ., ; Jun‐xia et al ., ).…”

Pesticides in essential oils and selected fragrance extracts. Some examples. A review

“…Cold‐pressed citrus oils are widely used in many fields, including food, flavours, cosmetics, and the pharmaceutical industries . In 1999, Dellacassa et al investigated the presence of organophosphorus and organochlorine pesticide residues in Uruguayan lemon EOs produced industrially by Food Machinery Corporation (FMC) extractors in 1995 .…”

“…In the case of citrus oils, often the entire fruit is destroyed to release the juice, thus releasing pesticides found in all fruit parts. The EO is then separated from the watery emulsion, usually by means of centrifugation . In this case, only lipophilicity is influential for co‐distillation .…”