A recent study shows how citrus volatiles influence mood, highlighting their potential application in functional foods and nutraceutical applications.
The introduction to an article in Food Quality and Safety about the study states that mood food refers to foods that enhance mental health. Among these, the widely favored citrus aromas evoke emotions such as pleasure, relaxation and alertness, thereby influencing both psychological and physiological responses.
The article’s authors are Zhiyue Ye, Feifei Liu, Jin Chen, Zhuoshun Dai, Jianle Chen, Shiguo Chen, Xingqian Ye, Donghao Zhang and Huan Cheng, all with Zhejiang University in China.
Citrus essential oils (EOs), as the main source of these aromas, exhibit significant mood-regulating effects, primarily attributed to the rich content of monoterpenoids. For instance, inhalation of navel orange EO alleviates depression-related behaviors in mice subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress. Moreover, D-limonene and linalool, two major constituents of citrus EOs, play crucial roles in modulating affective states. These findings confirm the mood-enhancing potential of citrus EOs and their active compounds.
The article’s conclusion states that the study provides compelling evidence that citrus EOs inhalation can modulate emotional states through both physiological and neural mechanisms. By integrating subjective assessment, intelligent sensory detection technologies and flavoromics profiling, a systematic framework was established to evaluate the emotional impact of citrus EOs.
Multimodal and flavoromics analyses identified D-limonene, linalool, α-terpineol and geranial as key bioactive volatiles linked to improved emotional states. By bridging aroma perception with objective emotional indicators, this study advances the understanding of how citrus-derived volatiles influence affective processes through inhalation of citrus aromas.
These findings underscore the potential of citrus EOs as functional ingredients for emotion-oriented applications in food, beverage and wellness contexts, though further validation in real-world food matrices and actual dietary environments is needed.
The article suggests that future research should explore a wider range of citrus species and diverse demographic cohorts to investigate variability in emotional responses across gender, age and health status.
Additionally, studies could expand to evaluate how incorporating citrus EOs into non-citrus foods and various food matrices — including packaging materials — influences consumer emotions. Such investigations will be instrumental in advancing the development of personalized emotional nutrition strategies and could enhance the targeted application of citrus-derived aroma compounds in consumer-centric product innovation.
See the full article about the study here.
Source: Food Quality and Safety
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