Citrus Essential Oils (CEOs) and Their Applications in Food: An Overview

Abstract

Citrus is a genus belonging to the Rutaceae family and includes important crops like orange, lemons, pummelos, grapefruits, limes, etc. Citrus essential oils (CEOs) consist of some major biologically active compounds like α-/β-pinene, sabinene, β-myrcene, d-limonene, linalool, α-humulene, and α-terpineol belonging to the monoterpenes, monoterpene aldehyde/alcohol, and sesquiterpenes group, respectively. These compounds possess several health beneficial properties like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, etc., in addition to antimicrobial properties, which have immense potential for food applications. Therefore, this review focused on the extraction, purification, and detection methods of CEOs along with their applications for food safety, packaging, and preservation. Further, the concerns of optimum dose and safe limits, their interaction effects with various food matrices and packaging materials, and possible allergic reactions associated with the use of CEOs in food applications were briefly discussed, which needs to be addressed in future research along with efficient, affordable, and “green” extraction methods to ensure CEOs as an ecofriendly, cost-effective, and natural alternative to synthetic chemical preservatives.

Comparison of Chemical Composition between Kuromoji (Lindera umbellata) Essential Oil and Hydrosol and Determination of the Deodorizing Effect

“…The results demonstrated that the most abundant constituent in both the essential oil and hydrosol was linalool ( Table 1 ). Linalool is a terpenoid that is commonly present in plants, such as citrus [ 7 ]. It is known that linalool possesses several bioactivities, such as antibacterial [ 8 ], antiviral [ 9 ], antifungal [ 10 ], anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Synthesis of D-Limonene Loaded Polymeric Nanoparticles with Enhanced Antimicrobial Properties for Potential Application in Food Packaging

“…Citrus EOs have been extensively studied for their potential applications in food packaging. There are numerous scientific reports dealing with the development of materials for active food packaging, containing EOs that serve as the active components [ 16 , 17 ]. These food packaging systems are designed mainly to protect the food from environmental conditions, like humidity, light, and temperature, along with other factors like dust, microorganisms, and mechanical deformation [ 17 ].…”

Citrus Essential Oils’ Antibacterial Effects against Food-Borne Bacteria

“…Among the CEOs, the bergamot essential oil and its terpene showed the best antibacterial action (against 7 out of 11 strains), followed by lemon EO (5 out of 11 strains), and bitter orange (4 out of 11 strains). Bora et al (2020) and Pandey et al (2017) [2,15] highlighted that CEOs, thanks to their antimicrobial properties, could be used in the food industry. In fact, the antimicrobial activity of CEOs against human pathogenic bacteria has been reported from several authors [5,16,17].…”

“…The Citrus species, widely used in the preparation of food, both sweet and savory, are spread all over the world but originally coming from Northern India, Northern Myanmar, Southern China, and Southeast Asia [1]. The citrus genus, and subsequently, the Citrus fruits have many compounds that give them unique flavor and aroma and that have beneficial effects on health, such as phenols, flavonoids, limonoids, essential oils (EOs), and vitamins, particularly, vitamin C and carotenoids [2]. Citrus essential oils (CEOs) are extracted and extensively studied for their potential uses in the food industry [3].…”