Essential Oils: A Natural Weapon against Mycotoxins in Food

Essential oils are aromatic liquids that are isolated from plant parts and thus are extremely volatile and scented. These volatile oils are responsible for the different scents that plants emit. The major mycotoxin groups, including aflatoxin, fumonisin, ochratoxin (OT), zearalenone (ZEN), and deoxynivalenol (DON) can induce many harmful health effects, including allergies, cancer, and immunosuppression, owing to the intake of infected food. Currently, it is known that the majority of synthetic chemicals used as preservatives pose a danger to individuals and harm the environment. In this regard, utilizing diverse plant products, particularly essential oils (EOs) and their bioactive constituents, has been considered a green strategy and a safer alternative to synthetic chemicals due to their long-standing traditional use. Essential oils have several modes of action that prevent the growth of fungus and the production of mycotoxin, including changed fungal growth rates, disruption of cell permeability, disruption of the electron transport chain, alteration of gene expression patterns, and metabolic activities. This chapter aims to summarize the different recent studies on the effect of essential oils in inhibiting the growth of mycotoxigenic fungus, eliminating mycotoxins, and their mode of action.