Review reveals essential oil formulations extend shelf life and suppress oxidation across diverse fish species, highlighting their potential as sustainable natural preservatives.
This review examines essential oils as natural preservatives for fish products, with emphasis on their antimicrobial and antioxidant mechanisms. Compounds such as eugenol, thymol, carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde, and citral inhibit spoilage by disrupting microbial membranes, altering cell metabolism, and scavenging free radicals that drive lipid oxidation. Across studies on sea bass, tilapia, mackerel, carp, catfish, and tuna, essential oil-based coatings, films, and nanoemulsions reduced microbial growth and oxidation indicators, while extending shelf life from about 4 to 30 days depending on formulation and storage conditions. These findings support essential oils as promising multifunctional agents for sustainable fish preservation.
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Putra et al. (2026) studied this question.
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