Protective Impact of Chitosan Film Loaded Oregano and Thyme Essential Oil on the Microbial Profile and Quality Attributes of Beef Meat

• Published in: Antibiotics (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 5; p. 583
• Main Authors: Gaba, Abdul Basit M, Hassan, Mohamed A, Abd El-Tawab, Ashraf A, Abdelmonem, Mohamed A, Morsy, Mohamed K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26-04-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antimicrobial activity; Antimicrobial agents; Antioxidants; Bacteria; Beef; Chitosan; chitosan film; E coli; Essential oils; Fatty acids; Food; food microbiology; Food spoilage; Foodborne pathogens; In vivo methods and tests; Meat; meat quality; Microorganisms; Oils & fats; Oregano; oregano oil; Pathogens; Permeability; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Potassium; Proteins; Quality management; Shelf life; Spoilage; Thyme; thyme oil; United States > US; meat quality; chitosan film; thyme oil; oregano oil; antioxidants; food microbiology
• ISSN: 2079-6382; 2079-6382
• DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11050583

Edible films and essential oil (EO) systems have the potency to enhance the microbial quality and shelf life of food. This investigation aimed to evaluate the efficacy of chitosan films including essential oils against spoilage bacteria and foodborne pathogens associated with meat. Antimicrobial activity (in vitro and in vivo) of chitosan films (CH) incorporated with oregano oil (OO) and thyme oil (TO) at 0.5 and 1% was done against spoilage bacteria and foodborne pathogens, compared to the control sample and CH alone. Preliminary experiments (in vitro) showed that the 1% OO and TO were more active against
compared to
O157:H7 and
Typhimurium. In in vivo studies, CH containing OO and TO effectively inhibited the three foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria linked with packed beef meat which was kept at 4 °C/30 days compared to the control. The total phenolic content of the EOs was 201.52 mg GAE L
in thyme and 187.64 mg GAE L
in oregano. The antioxidant activity of thyme oil was higher than oregano oil. The results demonstrated that the shelf life of meat including CH with EOs was prolonged ~10 days compared to CH alone. Additionally, CH-OO and CH-TO have improved the sensory acceptability until 25 days, compared to the control. Results revealed that edible films made of chitosan and containing EOs improved the quality parameters and safety attributes of refrigerated or fresh meat.