**7. Conclusion**

Due to consumer awareness and negative perception of artificial preservatives in food, in recent years attention is shifting toward alternatives that the consumers recognize as natural. Thus, herbal extracts, particularly EOs, are getting more space in food industry to prevent the propagation of bacteria that are responsible for the spoilage of food or for the spread of socalled food-borne diseases.

Herbal extracts have antimicrobial potential and thus can be used for preventing food deterioration and shelf life extension. However, if herbal extracts were to be more widely applied as antibacterials in foods, the cytotoxic property and organoleptic impact are extremely important issues to consider. They may vary according to extract composition where the method of extraction plays a crucial role.

Therefore, herbal extracts should be used very carefully and with considerable precautions about the concentrations and product application, target consumer, major constituents of the oil, and toxicology profile.
