Studies on essential oils, Part 41. Chemical composition, antifungal, antioxidant and sprout suppressant activities of coriander (Coriandrum sativum) essential oil and its oleoresin

The growing interest in the substitution of ‘traditional food preservatives’, both antimicrobials and antioxidants, by natural ones has fostered research on vegetable sources and the screening of plant materials. It has been known since ancient times that spices and their essential oils have varying degrees of antimicrobial activity. The major antimicrobial components of spices include eugenol in cloves, allicin in garlic, cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol in cinnamon, carvacrol and thymol in oregano and thyme, and vanillin in vanilla beans. The antimicrobial activity of some essential oil components against food-borne pathogens, including mycotoxin-producing fungi, has also been tested. More recently, plant extracts have also been developed and proposed for use in foods as natural antioxidants and/or antimicrobials. These find-ings prompted us to explore the coriander (Coriandrum sativum) essential oil and oleoresin, which could be exploited as natural food preservatives.

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