Citrus medica and Cinnamomum zeylanicum Essential Oils as Potential Biopreservatives against Spoilage in Low Alcohol Wine Products

Abstract

<jats:p>Low alcohol wine is a new entry in the global wine market, due to the increase in consumers’ concern for health, economic and modern lifestyle issues. As low alcohol products are prone to spoilage, the adoption of natural-derived products with antimicrobial activity as biopreservatives seems to be an intriguing alternative. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the possible antimicrobial properties of Citrus medica and Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential oils (EOs) and assess their commercial prospective in the wine industry. The main constituents identified by GC/MS analysis were limonene (38.46%) and linalool (35.44%) in C. medica EO, whereas trans-cinnamic-aldehyde (63.58%) was the dominant compound in C. zeylanicum EO. The minimum inhibitory (MIC), non-inhibitory (NIC) and minimum lethal concentration (MLC) values against common wine spoilage microbes were initially determined. Subsequently, their efficiency was further validated in low alcohol (~6% vol) wines, either separately or in combination at 0.010% (v/v), as well as in wines deliberately inoculated with Gluconobacter cerinus, Oenococcus oeni, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Dekkera bruxellensis, Candida zemplinina, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Pichia guilliermondii or Zygosaccharomyces bailii. EO addition led to considerable spoilage and microbial growth delay during storage at room or refrigerated temperature, suggesting their potential use as wine biopreservatives.</jats:p>

Bioactive Natural Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oils from Spice Plants: New Findings and Potential Applications

“…Parts of cinnamon are widely used in culinary applications as a condiment and flavoring in the preparation of foods, such as liqueurs and chocolates [ 76 ]. Due to the antimicrobial activity, the total content of its EO has been also investigated in the vapor phase for heritage textile disinfection [ 79 ] and as a wine preservative [ 80 ].…”

Citrus species: Modern functional food and nutraceutical-based product ingredient

“…The addition of Citrus medica essential oil to the wines (0.010%) determined reduction in microbial counts compared to untreated wine, and is thus proposed as bio-preservative. In particular, it the antimicrobial activity of enriched wine against the common spoilage bacteria and yeasts/molds such as Gluconobacter cerinus, Oenococcus oeni, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Dekkera bruxellensis, Candida zemplinina, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Pichia guilliermondii, or Zygosaccharomyces bailii was studied and inoculated (Mitropoulou et al, 2020).…”

Application of Plant Extracts to Control Postharvest Gray Mold and Susceptibility of Apple Fruits to B. cinerea from Different Plant Hosts

“…The same conclusions were reached by Dammak et al [ 39 ] about L. nobilis essential oil and eucalyptol. Another study [ 33 ] showed cinnamon oil at concentrations close to what we used for trans -cinnamaldehyde (63.58%) was an effective antimicrobial agent for wine preservation. According to the results of this study and data found in the literature, the composition of the investigated extracts is promising in terms of antifungal properties.…”

“…Studies have shown that cinnamon oil can inhibit some bacterial strains isolated from food [ 29 ] and fungal pathogen growth [ 30 , 31 ]. It was also investigated for its antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities [ 32 ], and as a potential biopreservative [ 33 ]. Cinnamon oil and its components express their antimicrobial activity by affecting various pathogen cell structures [ 34 ].…”