Essential Oils in Citrus Fruit Ripening and Postharvest Quality

Citrus essential oils (EOs) are widely used as flavoring agents in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetical and chemical industries. For this reason, their demand is constantly increasing all over the world. Besides industrial applications, abundance of EOs epicarp particularly relevant for quality citrus fruit. In fact, these compounds represent a natural protection against postharvest deteriorations due to remarkable antimicrobial, insecticidal antioxidant activities. Several factors, including genotype, climatic conditions cultural practices, can influence assortment accumulation peels. This review focused on factors influencing variation EOs’ composition during ripening implications