Essential oil vapour and negative air ions: A novel tool for food preservation

Present review summarizes studies concerning antimicrobial efficiency of essential oil vapours, Negative air ions (NAI) as well as their combination for food preservation applications. Investigation on antimicrobial activity of essential oil vapours that began only in the last decade, has covered several food spoilage microorganisms and essential oil vapour combinations and also dealt with the mechanism underlying better performance of vapours over the respective oil. These investigations lead to the application of essential oil vapours in active packaging and food preservation. Antimicrobial activity of NAI has been demonstrated against limited strains but ample evidences on the efficacy of air ionizers in air disinfection and disease prevention have been generated. Nevertheless, the activity of NAI and essential oil vapours, both of which suffer from certain inherent disadvantages, has not been reviewed earlier. The present review shows that recent efforts towards combination of both the agents through in vitro studies depicted marked enhancement in antimicrobial efficiency thereby conceiving a novel tool for food preservation.

► 1st review on Essential Oil Vapours & Negative Air Ions (EOV & NAI)as antimicrobials. ► EOV attractive for active packaging & food preservation. ► NAI potential in preventing infections in animal houses/hospitals indicated.