title: Bioactivity of essential oils: a review on their interaction with food components.
abstract: Essential oils (EOs) are liquid preparations, produced from plant materials. Although EOs showed a promising bioactivity in vitro, they could interact in foods with some components (fats, proteins, carbohydrates) and pH, thus many authors have reported that a significant effect of EOs toward spoiling and pathogenic microorganisms could be achieved in vivo by using higher amounts of oils. Different methods can be used to assess the bioactivity of EOs (disk diffusion and agar or broth dilution methods); however, there is not a standardized test and researchers propose and use different protocols (evaluating the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration, studying the survival curves, analysis through the scanning electron microscopy, etc.). Thereafter, the scope of this review is a focus on interactions of EOs with proteins, carbohydrates, oils, NaCl, and pH, as well as a brief description on the different protocols to assess their bioactivity both under in vivo and in vitro conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of the Sciences of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Foggia Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perricone
authors.affiliation: Department of the Sciences of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Foggia Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Ersilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arace
authors.affiliation: Department of the Sciences of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Foggia Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Corbo
authors.affiliation: Department of the Sciences of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Foggia Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sinigaglia
authors.affiliation: Department of the Sciences of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Foggia Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bevilacqua
keywords: antibacterial; bioactivity; essential oils; food composition; methods