Chemical Composition of Essential Oils of Aromatic and Medicinal Herbs Cultivated in Greece—Benefits and Drawbacks

The current study investigated and determined the major compounds of six essential oils derived from different plant species cultivated in Greece (Lavandula angustifolia, Origanum vulgare, Pistacia lentiscus var. chia, Citrus reticulata, Citrus limon and Crithmum maritimum). The results proved that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Foods 2021-10, Vol.10 (10), p.2354
Main Authors: Pasias, Ioannis N., Ntakoulas, Dimitris D., Raptopoulou, Kalomoira, Gardeli, Chrysavgi, Proestos, Charalampos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Allergic reactions
Analgesics
Antiinfectives and antibacterials
Antimicrobial activity
Antimicrobial agents
antioxidant
Antioxidants
Carvacrol
Chemical composition
Chromatography
Citral
Citrus fruits
Citrus limon
Citrus reticulata
Communication
Cosmetics
Crithmum maritimum
Essential oils
Food products
Food science
GC-FID
GC-MS
Herbal medicine
Hypersensitivity
Lavandula angustifolia
Limonene
Linalool
Medicinal herbs
Medicinal plants
Myrcene
nutritional aspects
Oils & fats
Oregano
Origanum vulgare
Phenolic compounds
Phenols
Pistacia lentiscus
Plant species
Preservatives
Sabinene
Sensors
Temperature
α-Pinene
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Summary:The current study investigated and determined the major compounds of six essential oils derived from different plant species cultivated in Greece (Lavandula angustifolia, Origanum vulgare, Pistacia lentiscus var. chia, Citrus reticulata, Citrus limon and Crithmum maritimum). The results proved that all these essential oils have a high potential for use as food preservatives, since among the compounds determined were sabinene, b-myrcene, a-pinene, carvacrol and limonene, all of which were responsible for the strong antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. However, the amounts of some compounds, such as linalool and citral, were at high levels, and this can be a danger for some sensitive population groups due to allergic reactions. The essential oil compounds which were identified using GC-MS and quantified through GC-FID represented more than 95% of the total essential oils of the investigated plant species. Finally, all essential oils provided high phenolic content.
ISSN:2304-8158
2304-8158
DOI:10.3390/foods10102354