Antioxidant and Cytoprotective Role of Citral-Rich Essential Oils in In Vitro Animal Cell Models

Citral-rich essential oils (CEO) exhibit remarkable antioxidant potential. In this review, we discuss chemical and biological aspects of citral and CEO, estimating possible mechanisms of action. To this end, a literature search was carried out in the Scielo, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases, focusing on the antioxidant potential of CEO. Analyzed studies demonstrated the protective capacity of citral and CEO in cells stressed by hydrogen peroxide and excess glucose in the medium. Moreover, citral has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antimutagenic activity that can be exploited in a cell culture. The antioxidant activity of citral is attributed to the presence of an aldehyde group and multiple unsaturations in its structure, which enable it to scavenge free radicals and convert them into auto-oxidizing epoxides that are rapidly eliminated by the cell. Citral epigenetically modulates DNA, increasing the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, while inhibiting enzymes involved in lipid peroxidation. In parallel, CEO and citral contribute to maintaining DNA integrity through kinase-related signaling pathways. Despite growing evidence of their antioxidant potential, studies investigating the bioactivity of citral and CEOs in animal cell cultures remain limited. Furthermore, research exploring the synergistic activity of citral with other compounds is still scarce, despite their significant scientific relevance. This scenario reinforces the need for further investigations to elucidate their mechanisms of action and to establish reference parameters guiding their application in different cellular and reproductive models in vitro.