Essential Oils: Recent Advances on Their Dual Role as Food Preservatives and Nutraceuticals against the Metabolic Syndrome

Essential oils (EO) are compounds synthesized by plants as secondary products and are a complex mixture of volatile molecules. Studies have demonstrated their pharmacological activity in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Moreover, they have been used as antimicrobial and antioxidant food additives. The first part of this review discusses the role of EO as nutraceuticals to prevent metabolic syndrome-related disorders (i.e., obesity, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases), showing results from in vitro and in vivo studies. Likewise, the second part describes the bioavailability and mechanisms of action of EO in preventing chronic diseases. The third part presents the application of EO as food additives, pointing out their antimicrobial and antioxidant activity in food formulations. Finally, the last part explains the stability and methods for encapsulating EO. In conclusion, EO dual role as nutraceuticals and food additives makes them excellent candidates to formulate dietary supplements and functional foods. However, further investigation is needed to understand EO interaction mechanisms with human metabolic pathways and to develop novel technological approaches to enhance EO stability in food systems to scale up these processes and, in this way, to overcome current health problems.

Automated summary

Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile molecules synthesized by plants. They have demonstrated pharmacological activity in preventing and treating metabolic syndrome and are used as antimicrobial and antioxidant food additives. This review explores the role of essential oils as nutraceuticals in preventing metabolic syndrome-related disorders, the bioavailability and mechanisms of action of essential oils in preventing chronic diseases, their application as food additives, and methods for enhancing their stability. Further investigation is needed to understand the interaction mechanisms of essential oils with human metabolic pathways and develop technological approaches to improve their stability in food systems.