Óleos essenciais como conservante de alimentos: uma breve revisão bibliográfica

Abstract

Essential oils are compounds produced naturally by plants, originating from their secondary metabolism, and which can be found in seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, leaves and fruits. Essential oils have antimicrobial and antifungal properties, with compounds capable of directly or indirectly inhibiting bacterial enzymatic systems, presenting a behavior similar to that of antibiotics. Therefore, they are being increasingly used in the food industry for increasing the shelf life of products and also because of the flavor and aroma. Therefore, the use of essential oil as a food preservative is an approach to food preservation and also to improve flavor characteristics. However, further investigations should be carried out in targeting the inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms.