Essential oils as natural antioxidants for the control of food preservation

Abstract

Despite advancements in food preservation ways, the nature of preservatives remains one of the real problems that must be taken into account for the preservation of consumer health. To cope with the problems of contami- nation and oxidation of foodstuffs, the chemistry development has favored the appearance and application of new chemical substances such as benzoates, sulphites, calcium chloride, acid citric etc. used as synthetic food preserva- tives. Subsequently, several of these synthetic preservatives have been banned in some countries because of their long-term adverse toxicological effects. The current trend of consumers seeking healthier diets is forcing them to use natural products with antimicrobial and antioxidant activities such as essential oils. These aromatic plant extracts, whose antioxidant power has been widely proven in the literature, also contain substances with very interesting biological activities, less polluting for the environment, with minor effects on the health of consumers. In this review, we have highlighted the antioxidant potential of essential oils for food quality improvement and preservation.