Eucalyptus Globulus L. Essential Oil: Chemical Characterization and Bioactivities Assessment

Eucalyptus is a large genus of tall evergreen plants belonging to the Myrtaceae family, being also one of the most important trees due to its several uses, specially of timber, pulp and essential oil. The demand of Eucalyptus sp. essential oil has significantly increased as it has been approved as a natural additive. It is widely used in food, flavor, pharmaceutical, and perfumery industries, thanks to its many biological properties, including antibacterial, antifungal, analgesic and antiinflammatory ones. Essential oils have been under intensive research, mainly regarding their bioactive properties (antioxidant, fungitoxic, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, among others). Owing to these properties they are potentially interesting for diverse industries including the food industry since one of its main problems concerns pathogenic microorganisms and associated toxins that are responsible for food spoilage. Although the application of essential oils in the food industry may have some limitations, such as impact on the organoleptic properties and low solubility, different delivery strategies such as nanoencapsulation, active packaging and coatings are promising technologies that may overcome these issues without compromising nutritional properties in food systems.

Keywords

Eucalyptus Plants Research Subject Categories::FORESTRY, AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES and LANDSCAPE PLANNING::Product science::Food science

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10198/26324

Citation

Spadi, Agnese; Xavier, Virginie; Masella, Piernicola; Amaral, Joana S.; Pires, Tânia C.S.; Calhelha, Ricardo C.; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.; Heleno, Sandrina A.; Barros, Lillian (2022). Eucalyptus Globulus L. Essential Oil: Chemical Characterization and Bioactivities Assessment. In Ciência 2022 - Encontro com a Ciência e Tecnologia em Portugal. Lisboa