Essential oils and their nanoformulations as green preservatives to boost food safety against mycotoxin contamination of food commodities: a review

Abstract

Postharvest food spoilage due to fungal and mycotoxin contamination is a major challenge in tropical countries, leading to severe adverse effects on human health. Because of the negative effects of synthetic preservatives on both human health and the environment, it has been recommended that chemicals that have a botanical origin, with an eco‐friendly nature and a favorable safety profile, should be used as green preservatives. Recently, the food industry and consumers have been shifting drastically towards green consumerism because of their increased concerns about health and the environment. Among different plant‐based products, essential oils (EOs) and their bioactive components are strongly preferred as antimicrobial food preservatives. Despite having potent antimicrobial efficacy and preservation potential against fungal and mycotoxin contamination, essential oils and their bioactive components have limited practical applicability caused by their high volatility and their instability, implying the development of techniques to overcome the challenges associated with EO application. Essential oils and their bioactive components are promising alternatives to synthetic preservatives. To overcome challenges associated with EOs, nanotechnology has emerged as a novel technology in the food industries. Nanoencapsulation may boost the preservative potential of different essential oils by improving their solubility, stability, and targeted sustainable release. Nanoencapsulation of EOs is therefore currently being practiced to improve the stability and bioactivity of natural products. The present review has dealt extensively with the application of EOs and their nanoformulated products encapsulated in suitable polymeric matrices, so as to recommend them as novel green preservatives against foodborne molds and mycotoxin‐induced deterioration of stored food commodities. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Antifungal and Antitoxigenic Effects of Selected Essential Oils in Vapors on Green Coffee Beans with Impact on Consumer Acceptability

“…EOs have antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, antimutagenic, or antioxidant properties, and therefore, have a wide application in food industry and agriculture [ 18 ]. As essential oils are natural substances and can affect the growth, sporulation, and even the production of mycotoxins by filamentous fungi [ 19 ], they are promising and suitable alternatives to solve the problem of coffee contamination by fungi and their mycotoxins, as well as in other food commodities.…”

Post-harvest Management of Alternaria Induced Rot in Tomato Fruits With Essential Oil of Zanthoxylum armatum DC

“…However, application of Z. armatum EO in the management of A. alternata-induced tomato fruit rot is least explored. Green consumerism awareness and desire among common people having fewer synthetic food additives and products and minimum impact on the environment further advocate the use of EOs for the management of fungal pathogens in edible crops (Dangl and Jones, 2001;Anupama et al, 2019;Singh et al, 2021;Tao et al, 2021). Objectives of the present investigation were set forth to evaluate the efficacy of Z. armatum DC fruit EO in controlling the A. alternata-mediated rot in tomato fruits, vis-a-vis its role in modulating antioxidant potential of tomato fruits.…”

Phages and Enzybiotics in Food Biopreservation

“…Many natural and eco-friendly methodologies for food preservation have been proposed in the last few years, but only limited data are available about the usefulness of most of them under industrial scale conditions, which needs proper attention to satisfy the requirements of the industry as well as the demand of the consumers [226][227][228][229][230]. Consequently, studies about the ability of the reported biopreservative agents to control the development of undesirable microorganisms when applied at the industrial scale are greatly required.…”