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Essential oils may be able to be used as food preservatives in packaging to help extend the shelf-life of food products, a new study suggests. Essential oils are aromatic oily liquids extracted from different parts of plants (roots, peels, leaves, seeds, fruits, barks) and have been shown to be a good source of antioxidative and antimicrobial properties.
The review of the scientific evidence to date, published in the Journal of Food Science, looked at a range of essential oils noting their ability to fight bacteria and fungi which can spoil food. Amongst the most powerful essential oils were oregano and thyme –both rich in a substance called carvacrol – and rosemary each of which had a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) bacteria. Coriander was also found to be effective.
More unusually they found antimicrobial activity from Callistemon comboynensis (cliff bottlebrush) essential oil against gram-positive (B. subtilis and S. aureus), gram negative (Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans.
Not all types of essential oils had such a broad spectrum of action. The researchers found evidence that Pseudomonas putida was resistant to carrot seed and parsley essential oils while E. …
Essential oil incorporation into packaging may improve water vapor barrier properties of protein-based films, increase the strength of the film and resistance to stretching, decrease transparency, and help prevent food spoilage by interacting with the films other properties.
Please Read this Article at NyrNaturalNews.com
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