Stealing from Phytotherapy—Heritage Conservation with Essential Oils: A Review, from Remedy to Sustainable Restoration Product

Rita Reale, Laura Medeghini and Michela Botticelli ()
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Rita Reale: Department of Environmental Biology, ‘Sapienza’ University of Rome, P. le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Laura Medeghini: Department of Earth Sciences, ‘Sapienza’ University of Rome, P. le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Michela Botticelli: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale (CNR-ISPC), c/o Palazzo Ingrassia, Via Biblioteca 4, 95124 Catania, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-23

Abstract: Essential oils represent a good alternative to chemical biocides as they have antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal properties, inhibiting the formation and proliferation of biofilms which can occur on outdoor and indoor surfaces of ancient and modern artworks. In this review, we illustrate how their antimicrobial properties, known since antiquity in phytotherapy, have been studied and tested for conservation purposes since the 1970s. In vitro tests on a wide range of plant extracts and in situ applications of specific volatile compounds have shown selective antibacterial and antifungal properties after the individual action of pure components or as the synergic effects of pre-determined mixtures. The review emphasizes the broad spectrum of materials—organic and inorganic—that essential oils can be applied to as biocides and finally emphasizes how the demand for commercial solutions has rapidly grown in bioconservation. The review demonstrates how research on the subject has been powerfully boosted by the ecofriendly and harmless character of essential oil applications, which makes them one of the most sustainable options in heritage conservation nowadays. The review elucidates how research is developing novel solutions for the application of EO blends—like encapsulation and microemulsions—and their optimization in commercial products for heritage conservation.

Keywords: essential oil; biocide; plant; cultural heritage; preservation; bioconservation; biodeterioration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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