Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of natural extracts: application in beef meatballs
Introduction
The appearance of foods is one of the major determinants of its appeal to consumers and consequently, sales of the product. Lipid oxidation and bacterial contamination are the main factors that determine food quality loss and shelf-life reduction. Therefore, delaying lipid oxidation and preventing bacterial cross-contamination are highly relevant to food processors. The growth of microorganisms in meat products may cause spoilage or foodborne diseases. Oxidative processes in meat lead to the degradation of lipids and proteins which, in turn, contribute to the deterioration in flavour, texture and colour of displayed meat products (Decker, Chan, Livisay, Butterfield, & Faustman, 1995). Several authors have postulated that in meat and meat products pigment and lipid oxidation are interrelated (Anton et al., 1993, Yin and Faustman, 1993). Genot, Borel, Metro, Gandemer, and Renerre (1991) concluded that can initiate lipid peroxidation, leading to the formation of prooxidant substances capable of reacting with oxymyoglobin (OMb) and resulting in metmyogobin (MMb) formation. Anton et al. (1993) postulated that OMb could be oxidized not only by lipid-oxy radicals but by other pro-oxidant radicals generated by . Several investigators reported that the susceptibility of myoglobin to autoxidation is the main factor in explaining colour stability in meat and meat products (Renerre, Anton, & Gatellier, 1992).
Although synthetic additives have been widely used in the meat industry to inhibit both, the process of lipid oxidation and microbial growth, the trend is to decrease their use because of the growing concern among consumers about such chemical additives (Chastain et al., 1982, Chen et al., 1984). Consequently, search for natural additives, especially of plant origin, has notably increased in recent years (Löliger, 1991). Compounds obtained from natural sources such as grains, oilseeds, spices, fruit and vegetables have been investigated (Chen, Muramoto, Yamauchi, & Huang, 1996). Therefore, the development and application of natural products with both antioxidants and antibacterial activities in meat products may be necessary and useful to prolong their storage shelf life and potential for preventing food diseases.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) has been reported to contain certain compounds including, rosmanol, rosmariquinone, rosmaridiphenol and carnosol, which may be up to four times as effective as butylated hydroxy anisole (BHA) and equal to butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) as antioxidants (Houlihan et al., 1984, Houlihan et al., 1985, Nakatani and Inatani, 1984). Moreover, several authors reported that some compounds present in rosemary extracts could have antibacterial activity (Cuvelier, Richard, & Berset, 1996). Del Campo, Amiot, and Nguyen-The (2000) reported that the compounds responsible for the antibacterial action seemed presumably to be the phenolic di-terpenoids, which are the main compounds of the apolar fraction of the rosemary extracts.
Garlic extracts have also been shown to have antioxidant activity in different in vitro models. The antioxidant activity of Allium plants has mainly been attributed to a variety of sulphur-containing compounds and their precursors (Kim et al., 1997, Lampe, 1999, Nuutila et al., 2003). These compounds have been also reported as responsible for their in vitro antibacterial activity (Harris et al., 2001, Tsao and Yin, 2001).
Citrus fruits are an important source of bioactive compounds (flavonoids and vitamin C). The main flavonoids found in citrus species are hesperidine, narirutin, naringin and eriocitrin (Mouly et al., 1994, Schieber et al., 2001). Ascorbic acid, a well known natural antioxidant, together with natural flavonoids are also attracting more and more attention not only due to their antioxidant properties, but as anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory agents because of their lipid anti-peroxidation effects (Elangovan et al., 1994, Martín et al., 2002).
As can be seen, several studies have demonstrated the antibacterial and/or antioxidant properties of these plants, mainly using in vitro assays. Moreover, some researchers reported that there is a relationship between the chemical structures of the most abundant compounds in the plants and their above mentioned functional properties (Dean and Svoboda, 1989, Farag et al., 1989). Because these compounds are likely to interact with their environment, and the composition could vary according to regional conditions, the investigation of their activity in a range of food systems is still needed to successfully apply them into meat products. The objectives of this study were to investigate (I) the antioxidant activities of commercially available natural extracts, (II) the ability of these natural extracts for inhibiting the growth of 11 foodborne bacterial contaminants and (III) their ability to extend the storage shelf life of a cooked meat product.
Section snippets
Natural extracts
Rosemary and garlic extracts: Three different commercial rosemary extracts and one of garlic were provided by Kalsec® (Kalsec Mildenhall, UK): Herbalox® seasoning Type HT-O which is an rosemary oil miscible extract, Duralox® oxidation management Blend CN-2 which is a rosemary water miscible extract, Herbalox® seasoning Type W which is a rosemary oil and water miscible extract, and Aquaresin® garlic which is a garlic water miscible extract.
Citrus extracts (orange and lemon): these extracts were
Antioxidant activity of natural extracts
Antioxidant activities of each natural extract expressed as stability index (SI) are shown in Table 2. The only extract that did not show any antioxidant properties was garlic extract (GR), which showed a SI lower than that of the control, which could indicate pro-oxidant activity linked to the garlic product. The antioxidant activity of Allium plants has been attributed to a group of sulphur-containing compounds, from which allicin (diallyl thiosulphinate) appeared to be the main component (
Conclusions
The use of rosemary extracts has proved to be effective as an antioxidant in cooked swedish-style meatballs. The application of rosemary and citrus extracts improved the acceptability of the product. The application of rosemary preparations could be useful to control the development of rancidity and off flavours, while orange and lemon serve the same purpose, but may have some additional effects such as water binding that need to be managed. Some antibacterial activity was detected, but
Acknowledgement
Funding for work at the University of Plymouth was enabled by a grant by the Seale Hayne Educational Trust. JFL visit to U.P. was funded by the Generalitat Valenciana and LAC’S was within a Socrates exchange programme. Linda Thomas (Aplin & Barrett Ltd., Danisco-Cultor, Beaminster, UK) kindly provided some of the bacterial strains.
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