Essential oils: Extraction technology, bioactivity and use in food preservation

Essential oils (EOs) have received increasing attention as the natural additives for the shelf-life extension of food products, due to the risk in using synthetic preservatives. These are concentrated liquids of complex mixtures of volatile compounds. Essential oils, also called volatile odoriferous oil extracted from different parts of plants, for example, leaves, peels, barks, flowers, buds, seeds, and so on. They can be extracted from plant materials by several methods like steam distillation, solvent extraction, and so on. Essential oils are a good source of several bioactive compounds, which possess antioxidative and antimicrobial properties. In addition, some essential oils are being used as medicine. Furthermore, essential oils can be incorporated into packaging, in which they can provide multifunction termed as “active or smart packaging.” New technology for lowering the unique and undesirable smell of essential oil, which can limit their use in foods by encapsulation technology, can be utilized to counter their negative effect on sensory perception. As a consequence, essential oil can be widely used without any negative effect on sensory property of foods. Novel technologies such as encapsulation of EOs into Nano emulsions and the use of EOs as part of hurdle technology to improve the microbial stability and the sensory quality of meat and meat products are being used in the meat industry; traditional methods of adding EOs directly into meat batter during manufacturing of meat products are also used. The development of release system for essential oil from packaging or fuming system inside packaging is conducted to maximize the activity of active compounds in essential oils. Therefore, it can serve as the convenient packaging, which can effectively extend the shelf life of foods.