Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oil in Food System

Abstract

Consumers’ preference for clean label products requires the food industry to replace chemical synthetic preservatives with natural substitutes. At present, plant essential oils have attracted much attention in the field of natural antimicrobial agents. Essential oil is a natural antibacterial agent extracted and isolated from plants. A large number of studies have confirmed that essential oil has the potential to fight many foodborne pathogens. Therefore, the main active components and basic characteristics of essential oils are discussed in this paper. Then, the antibacterial mechanism of essential oil against foodborne bacteria and fungi was analyzed. Finally, the application potential of essential oils as antimicrobial agents in different foods was reviewed.