Potential roles of essential oils from the flower, fruit and leaf of Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis in preventing spoilage of Chinese steamed bread

Abstract This study investigated the composition and antifungal activities of the essential oil (EO) of golden finger citron (Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis, GFC). The EOs obtained by hydrodistillation were characterized by GC-MS and GC-FID. The study revealed that the inhibition zone diameter (IZD) of EOs against mould growth on Chinese steamed bread (CSB) was 11.33–90.00 mm, the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) was 0.37–6 μL/mL and that EOs extended the shelf life of CSB by 3–13 days in the vacuum package. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the EOs altered the hyphal morphology of the moulds at the MIC. Sixteen bioactive compounds were identified based on their antifungal activities. The results demonstrate that the EOs of GFC have the potential to act as plant-based biopreservatives in CSB.