Toxicity of lemon essential oil on methanogenic bacteria

Lemon Essential Oil (L.E.O.), which is derived from the skin of the fruit from which it gets its name, has a varied composition, rich in terpenes, aldehydes and different aromatic compounds. AEL is toxic to many species of microorganisms, so if it is inefficiently extracted during the industrialization of lemons or accidentally leaked into the effluent line, it could seriously compromise the normal operation of anaerobic reactors used as biological treatment systems to reduce the high organic load of such effluents. This is why it is of special interest to know the sensitivity of methanogenic bacteria when exposed to increasing concentrations of AEL, since they are crucial for an optimal degradation of organic matter.