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The Effect of the Application of Thyme Essential Oil on Microbial Load During Meat Drying
Published on: March 14, 2018
Effects of Surface Treatment with Thymol on the Lipid Oxidation Processes, Fatty Acid Profile and Color of Sliced
Éva Varga-Visi1, Ildikó Jócsák2, Vanda Kozma3
1Department of Physiology and Animal Health, Institute of Physiology and Nutrition, Kaposvár Campus, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Guba Sándor Street 40, H-7400 Kaposvár, Hungary.
Abstract:
The oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids and the adverse transformation of pigments from meat and spices are the primary causes of chemical degradation in processed meat products. Thymol is found in a variety of plant extracts that have been proven to effectively inhibit or slow down oxidative processes. The objective of our study was to determine whether thymol treatment of the surface of sliced paprika salami could be applied to inhibit lipid oxidation and color change during refrigerated storage. During eight weeks of storage, the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and the ratios of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and n6/n3 in thymol-treated salami remained unchanged (p ≥ 0.05), whereas in the controls, the MDA levels increased by approximately twelvefold and the ratio of SFAs in the lipid fraction increased (p < 0.001), while the ratio of PUFAs decreased (p < 0.001). The application of thymol prevented decrease in yellowness (b*) of the slices and reduced decreases in redness (a*) and brightness (chroma).
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