Antifungal and Antioxidant Properties of Essential Oils: A Review of Promising Applications in Food Preservation

Abstract

The increased demand for natural products within the agri-food sector has focused much research on the antifungal and antioxidant potentials of essential oils from aromatic plants. And by disrupting the cell membrane and fungi growth inhibition, these compounds have shown a great degree of antifungal activity on a wide variety of fungi and also stimulate plant immune systems. These substances have been reported to demonstrate activity against different pathogenic fungi. Essential oils such as those of Origanum vulgare, Thymus algeriensis, Eucalyptus globulus, and Rosmarinus officinalis with their major active principles such as thymol, carvacrol, eucalyptol, and eugenol represent the cluster of promising compounds due to their particular chemical composition. Additionally, they are high in antioxidants that protect cells from oxidative stress and help preserve food. Their application as natural antifungal agents presents several advantages, such as a broad spectrum of action, biodegradability and low toxicity for humans and the environment, which makes them a good candidate as food additives, in post-harvest treatment or in natural pesticide formulations.