Recent developments in sources, chemical constituents, health benefits and food applications of essential oils extracted from medicine food homology plants

As people become increasingly health conscious, consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the potentially negative impact of synthetic preservatives on their health. Consequently, the food industry has been searching for safe, natural, and environmentally friendly food additives to meet the nutritional and health needs of consumers. Medicine food homology plants (MFHPs) are defined as substances that have both nutritional and medicinal qualities. Essential oils extracted from MFHPs (MFEOs) often contain multiple beneficial active compounds. MFEOs have been reported to have various health benefits, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anti-obesity properties. MFEOs provide excellent alternatives to the synthetic additives currently used by the food industry, not only to improve the organoleptic properties of food but also to increase its shelf life by decreasing food pathogens. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the recent development of the sources, chemical constituents, health benefits, and food applications of MFEOs. Moreover, this work provides a good foundation for the further development and utilization of MFEOs. The researcher believes that MFEOs will become important food additives and will be more widely used in food preservation.