Terpenes and terpenoids as main bioactive compounds of essential oils, their roles in human health and potential application as natural food preservatives

Ayu Masyita; Reka Mustika Sari; Ayun Dwi Astuti; Budiman Yasir; Nur Rahma Rumata; Talha Bin Emran; Firzan Nainu; Jesus Simal-Gandara

doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100217

Terpenes and terpenoids as main bioactive compounds of essential oils, their roles in human health and potential application as natural food preservatives

Food Chem X. 2022 Jan 19:13:100217. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100217. eCollection 2022 Mar 30.

Authors

Ayu Masyita¹, Reka Mustika Sari^{2

3}, Ayun Dwi Astuti¹, Budiman Yasir^{1

4}, Nur Rahma Rumata⁴, Talha Bin Emran⁵, Firzan Nainu¹, Jesus Simal-Gandara⁶

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Pharmacy, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia.
² Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20222, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia.
³ Cellulosic and Functional Materials Research Centre, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Jl. Bioteknologi No.1, Medan 20155, Indonesia.
⁴ Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Farmasi Makassar, Makassar 90242, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia.
⁵ Department of Pharmacy, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, Chittagong 4381, Bangladesh.
⁶ Universidade de Vigo, Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Science, E32004 Ourense, Spain.

Abstract

Essential oils (EOs) are volatile and concentrated liquids extracted from different parts of plants. Bioactive compounds found in EOs, especially terpenes and terpenoids possess a wide range of biological activities including anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiallergic. Available literature confirms that EOs exhibit antimicrobial and food preservative properties that are considered as a real potential application in food industry. Hence, the purpose of this review is to present an overview of current knowledge of EOs for application in pharmaceutical and medical industries as well as their potential as food preservatives in food industry.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory; Anticancer; Antimicrobial; Atractylone (PubChem CID: 3080635); Bakuchiol (PubChem CID: 5468522); Carvacrol (PubChem CID: 10364); Carvone (PubChem CID: 7439); Essential oil; Eugenol (PubChem CID: 3314); Food preservatives; Hinokitiol (PubChem CID: 3611); Limonene (PubChem CID: 22311); Linalool (PubChem CID: 6549); Myrcene (PubChem CID: 31253); Terpenes; α-Terpineol (PubChem CID: 17100).