Review on the Prevention and Control of Mycotoxins in Agricultural Products Using Essential Oils and Their Nanoformulations

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by fungi during their growth and they are important detrimental factors endangering the quality and safety of agricultural products. Essential oils are natural inhibitors of fungal growth and accumulation of mycotoxins, but characteristics of strong volatility, poor stability and low water solubility limit their applications. In recent years, the development and utilization of nanoformulations can solve the above drawbacks of essential oils, and improve their bioavailability. This paper summarizes that essential oil can reduce the contamination level of mycotoxins in agricultural products by inhibiting the production of mycotoxins and degrading mycotoxins, overviews the inhibitory mechanism of essential oil against the growth of fungi and production of mycotoxins, reviews the research status of the prevention and control of mycotoxins in agricultural products using essential oils and their nanoformulations, and discusses the existing problems, in order to provide useful references for the further development and utilization of essential oils for the prevention and control of mycotoxins.