Essential Oil as Antimicrobial Agents: Efficacy, Stability, and Safety Issues for Food Application

Abstract

The use of natural antimicrobial compounds in food has gained much attention by the consumers and the food industry. This is primarily due to two major factors. First, the misuse and mishandling of antibiotics has resulted in the dramatic rise of a group of microorganisms including foodborne pathogens that are not only antibiotic resistant but also more tolerant to several food processing and preservation methods. In addition, increasing consumers' awareness of the potential negative impact of synthetic preservatives on health versus the benefits of natural additives has generated interest among researchers in the development and use of natural products in foods. Essential oils are volatile, natural, complex compounds characterized by a strong odor and are formed by aromatic plants as secondary metabolites. The bioactivity properties of essential oils are generally determined by the major compounds present in them. They have been widely used for bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, antiparasitical, insecticidal, medicinal, and antioxidant applications. The biological activity of the oils can be compared with the activity of synthetically produced pharmacological preparations. Thus, essential oils are promising natural extracts that need further evaluation for possible application as supplement, preservatives, or antioxidants in food or pharmaceutical industries.

Immobilization of Caraway Essential Oil in a Polypropylene Matrix for Antimicrobial Modification of a Polymeric Surface

“…As reported by Nazzaro et al [ 64 ], the structure of the gram-positive bacteria cell wall allows hydrophobic molecules to move easily through the porins of the cells. In other words, gram-negative bacteria are less sensitive to the EOs because of their lipopolysaccharide outer membrane, which restricts the diffusion of hydrophobic compounds [ 65 ]. No inhibition zones were discerned for any of the film samples, possibly caused by the EO being well consolidated on the TC.…”

An Overview of the Potential Therapeutic Applications of Essential Oils

“…Moreover, the likelihood of EO effect on the stress tolerance of microbes is limited. Though generally regarded as safe, natural products and EO are not completely safe due to the diversity of metabolites in them when used as antimicrobial agents [ 151 ]. The large amount of secondary metabolites may have synergistic or antagonistic properties when used in non-standardized form.…”

Modeling the Growth and Death of Staphylococcus aureus against Melaleuca armillaris Essential Oil at Different pH Conditions

“…Essential oils (EO) are a great resource as an alternative therapy, providing a lot of antimicrobials (ATMs) compounds produced by aromatic plants. In addition to their usefulness in medicine, essential oils are of great importance in the food industry to guarantee food preservation and safety [ 2 ]. These can act as bacteriostatics or bactericides in several ways by responding to different action mechanisms and having a wide variety of target sites, which generally lead to destabilization of the phospholipid bilayer, destruction of the function and composition of the plasma membrane, loss of vital intracellular components, and inactivation of enzyme mechanisms [ 3 ].…”