title: Prevention of fungal spoilage in food products using natural compounds: A review.
abstract: The kingdom Fungi is the most important group of microorganism contaminating food commodities, and chemical additives are commonly used in the food industry to prevent fungal spoilage. However, the increasing consumer concern about synthetic additives has led to their substitution by natural compounds in foods. The current review provides an overview of using natural agents isolated from different sources (plants, animals, and microorganisms) as promising antifungal compounds, including information about their mechanism of action and their use in foods to preserve and prolong shelf life. Compounds derived from plants, chitosan, lactoferrin, and biocontrol agents (lactic acid bacteria, antagonistic yeast, and their metabolites) are able to control the decay caused by fungi in a wide variety of foods. Several strategies are employed to reduce the drawbacks of some antifungal agents, like their incorporation into oil-in-water emulsions and nanoemulsions, edible films and active packaging, and their combination with other natural preservatives. These strategies facilitate the addition of volatile agents into food products and, improve their antifungal effectiveness. Moreover, biological agents have been investigated as one of the most promising options in the control of postharvest decay. Numerous mechanisms of action have been elucidated and different approaches have been studied to enhance their antifungal effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: a Food Technology Department , Universitat Politècnica de València , Valencia , Spain.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ribes
authors.affiliation: a Food Technology Department , Universitat Politècnica de València , Valencia , Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.affiliation: a Food Technology Department , Universitat Politècnica de València , Valencia , Spain.
authors.forename: Pau
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Talens
authors.affiliation: a Food Technology Department , Universitat Politècnica de València , Valencia , Spain.
authors.forename: Jose Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Barat
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005519:Food Preservation; D005520:Food Preservatives / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D005520:Food Preservatives
keywords: Plant secondary metabolite; antagonistic yeast; antifungal protection; chitosan; essential oil; lactic acid bacteria