**Author details**

*Aflatoxin B1 Occurrence, Detection and Toxicological Effects*

constraints:

protective effect [35].

**7. Conclusion**

**Acknowledgements**

**Conflict of interest**

cial support.

prospective use of EOs in the food industry.

assistance of carrier matrices is a trending area of research.

of EOs by different physical, physico-chemical and mechanical methods with the

Thus, although the use of EOs can be an interesting strategy, it faces several

*Phytotoxicity:* The alteration of the integrity of the cell membrane following exposure to EO (responsible for their anti-fungal effect) could also affect plants and induce phytotoxicity at slightly higher than those used to control fungi [19]. It should also be noted that the most effective EOs are generally the most phytotoxic [21].

*Toxicity to mammals:* exposure to EOs or their components may be toxic to mammals. For instance, EO with a high content of furanocoumarins may cause dermal irritation and burns during exposure to light due to photosensitization. The linalool, present in the EO of thyme and lavender is also toxic to human dermal cells [73]. *Rapid volatilization:* Compounds of EO are highly volatile and may also be oxidatively degraded following exposure to light or temperature rise. This loss of activity would therefore require their reintroduction continuously to maintain the

*Alteration of organoleptic qualities*: EOs consists of substances aromatic and are often used in cosmetics industry for their pleasant scent. Their application to foods could change their organoleptic qualities altering the taste [54]. To mitigate this effect, strategies such as encapsulation of EOs have been designed to strengthen the

The present review has focused on the antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic activity of essential oils. Additionally, other plant extracts possess potential antifungal activities against *A. flavus* and AFB1 production, but they are generally similar to those observed with the EOs. However, it would seem interesting to further explore the potential of these extracts and their bioactive compounds as they may have

In view of the potential of EOs as inhibitory of *A. flavus* growth and AFB1 production and their efficacy in food system in controlling fungal contamination, the EOs may be recommended for the formulation of plant based preservatives for enhancement of shelf life and safety of foodstuffs during post-harvest processing

Thanks to the Government of Aragón and FEDER 2014-2020 (Grant Grupo de Investigación A06\_17R) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Algeria (Project number: PRFU/D00L01UN150120180002) for finan-

several advantages over EOs, such as less sensorial impact on the food.

because consumers are looking for food with natural characteristics.

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

**84**

Yamina Ben Miri1 \*, Azem Belasli1 , Djamel Djenane1 and Agustín Ariño2

1 Laboratory of Food Quality and Food Safety, University Mouloud MAMMERI, Tizi-Ouzou, Algeria

2 Veterinary Faculty, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón-IA2, Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA, Zaragoza, Spain

\*Address all correspondence to: sys\_yamina@yahoo.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
