Facts and perspectives of edible Lamiaceae: flavour and health, industrial exploitation, and the consumer

Edible Lamiaceae possess the main properties of spices: food flavouring and preservative. The latter have been more considered by researchers during the last years, from two main perspectives. a) Antioxidant: the investigations dealt with the characterisation of the main components of both the non-volatile and volatile fractions, the exploration of plant variability, the calibration of appropriate analytical methods. Main fields of application were the protection of animal lipids, both as adjuncts in meat systems or dietary supplements, the protection of plant lipids during processing or storage, and other food applications. The role in human nutrition and health depends on intake that is generally low. b) Antimicrobial and biocide: a wealth of literature is available on antimicrobial properties of several essential oils. Main investigations dealt with the protection of food systems such as bakery products, meat and fish, vegetables. Present applications are as bio control agents in animal rearing. The use for the control of food pests has also been investigated. Flavouring properties are however still the base of most commercial exploitations, ranging from traditional dried products to frozen herbs, fresh and potted plants. Some aspects of these ways of exploitation are briefly critically discussed. The major need of the industry is standardization, even since, especially in the food sector consumers' preferences are far from homogeneous. Therefore, the market of traditional and innovative Lamiaceae products will continue to co-exist in the future. The role of research is shortly examined in the conclusions.