**Volatile Organic Compounds from Basil Essential Oils: Plant Taxonomy, Biological Activities, and Their Applications in Tropical Fruit Productions**

**Tibet Tangpao 1,2, Nutthawut Charoimek 2, Patipon Teerakitchotikan 2, Noppol Leksawasdi 3,4, Kittisak Jantanasakulwong 3,4, Pornchai Rachtanapun 3,4, Phisit Seesuriyachan 3,4, Yuthana Phimolsiripol 3,4, Thanongsak Chaiyaso 3,4, Warintorn Ruksiriwanich 5,6, Pensak Jantrawut 5,6, Hien Van Doan 7,8, Ratchadawan Cheewangkoon 8,9,\* and Sarana Rose Sommano 1,2,\***


**Abstract:** Basils of the genus *Ocimum* are aromatic plants grown widely throughout the tropical and temperate regions. The essential oils obtained from their aerial parts are enriched with volatile organic compounds with high market demand for food and pharmaceutical industries. The volatile organic compounds have been shown to exhibit biological activities. Therefore, their novel applications have been extensively explored in the last few decades. The most widely available basils in the tropical areas include white holy basil (*O. sanctum* var. Shyama), red holy basil (*O. sanctum* var. Rama), Thai basil (*O. basilicum* var. thyrsiflorum), lemon basil (*O. citriodorum*), and tree basil (*O. gratissimum*). Over 60 volatiles of different classes have been exclusively described, and some of them could be useful as biomarkers for genotype specification. The major volatile ingredient is the phenylpropanoids, such as methyl eugenol, which has the potential as a natural product for mitigating Oriental fruit fly (*Bactrocera dorsalis*) during tropical fruit production. Moreover, basil essential oils are also used to control diseases of the fruits during post-harvest storage. As a result, the application of basil essential oils as a sustainable defect control strategy for tropical fruit value chains seems intriguing. This review provides comprehensive information on plant taxonomy and volatile compositions of the essential oil fractions from different basil species. Their biological activities and applications are also discussed, mainly during the pre- and post-production of tropical fruits. Additionally, the available techniques to enhance the efficacy of the volatile active compounds are also described.

**Keywords:** essential oil; integrated pest management; Oriental fruit fly; pomology; post-harvest disease control

**Citation:** Tangpao, T.; Charoimek, N.; Teerakitchotikan, P.; Leksawasdi, N.; Jantanasakulwong, K.; Rachtanapun, P.; Seesuriyachan, P.; Phimolsiripol, Y.; Chaiyaso, T.; Ruksiriwanich, W.; et al. Volatile Organic Compounds from Basil Essential Oils: Plant Taxonomy, Biological Activities, and Their Applications in Tropical Fruit Productions. *Horticulturae* **2022**, *8*, 144. https://doi.org/10.3390/ horticulturae8020144

Academic Editors: Dasha Mihaylova, Aneta Popova and Isabel Lara

Received: 28 December 2021 Accepted: 5 February 2022 Published: 8 February 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

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