Owing to the toxicity of chemical food preservatives, essential oils have gained significant attention in the food industry. Because they can be toxic at certain concentrations, their toxicity must be carefully considered. This study is based on a review of 312 references to ensure accuracy. The databases WOS, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar are utilized to gather relevant information. Various combinations of the following keywords are employed: essential oil, food preservative, antimicrobial, toxicity, and MIC. The inclusion and exclusion criteria and quality assessment of the included studies led to the formation of a search strategy flowchart. Data were tabulated showing the names of the plants containing volatile oil, the major ingredients of essential oils, their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-aflatoxin effects, oral toxicity, and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of volatile oils against pathogens. The acute, sub-acute, and chronic toxicities of volatile oils are also discussed and investigated. In addition, the toxicity of the essential oils and their MIC were compared. Additionally, the MIC of the effective antibiotics against pathogenic microorganisms were compared with those of the volatile oils. Several figures have been prepared that show the relative frequencies of the data obtained from the tables. These results suggest that essential oils have great potential for use in the food industry. However, only a few studies have been conducted to determine their toxicity. Thus, further investigation is required.
Primary Language | English |
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Subjects | Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Toxicology |
Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | July 5, 2025 |
Submission Date | March 10, 2025 |
Acceptance Date | April 18, 2025 |
Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 29 Issue: 4 |