A New Approach in Meat Bio-Preservation through the Incorporation of a Heteropolysaccharide Isolated from Lobularia maritima L

Improving the shelf life of minced beef by Cystoseira compressa polysaccharide during storage

A polysaccharide extracted from the brown alga Cystoseira compressa (CCPS) was evaluated as a food additive to extend the shelf-life of raw beef meat. The antioxidant potential of CCPS was demonstrated by its inhibition of β-carotene bleaching (64.28 %), superoxide radicals (70.12 %), and hydroxyl radicals (93 %) at a concentration of 10 mg/ml. The polysaccharide also showed antibacterial activity with MIC values between 6.25 mg/ml and 50 mg/ml against five foodborne pathogenic bacteria. Furthermore, CCPS exhibited excellent functional, foaming, and emulsifying properties. Furthermore, microbiological and chemical effects of CCPS at concentrations equivalent to 1 MIC (CCPS-1), 2 MIC (CCPS-2), and 4 MIC (CCPS-3) were conducted. Chemical analyses showed that treated beef had significantly reduced TBARS levels below 2 mg MDA/kg at day 14. The treatment also decreased carbonyl groups, improved heme iron transformation, inhibited microbial growth (p < 0.05), and kept MetMb levels below 40 % by day 14. Moreover, two multivariate approaches, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), were effectively used to analyze the results characterizing the main attributes of the stored meat samples. In conclusion, these findings demonstrated that CCPS could be employed as a functional and bioactive component in the meat industry.

Effect of different reheating processes and conditions on the nutritional, functional, and microbiological properties of cow meat

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different reheating methods and conditions on the proximate composition, mineral content, oil quality, and functional and microbiological properties of cow meat. For this, a survey was carried out to identify the reheating methods used in the community. For this study, 8.6 kg of raw beef was used and group 1 (500 g) served as raw control. The remaining 8.1 kg was boiled for 30 min in 5 L of water. Four hundred grams of boiled beef was removed and served as cooked control (group 2). The remaining 3688 g was divided into four groups of 922 g, which were, respectively, divided into subgroups of 307 g. The four sets of subgroups were, respectively, reheated by boiling, frying, microwaving and oven roasting for 3 days. Reheating was done three times a day and samples were collected at the end of each day for further analysis. Changes in proximate composition, mineral content, oil quality, functional properties, and microbiological count were evaluated using standard methods. Results showed that frequent reheating of food was the most used preservation method of cooked food, and boiling and steaming were the most used methods. Reheating time significantly reduces the protein, mineral content, and oil quality of cow meat in general. For the functional properties, reheating methods/conditions generally increased the water-holding capacity, loose and packed bulk densities as well the pH of the meat. Reheating by frying increased the porosity and Hausner ratio of the meat powder while all the reheating treatments reduced the swelling capacity and titratable acidity of cow meat powder. Generally, the reheating methods and duration significantly reduced the bacterial count of cow meat powder. Cow meat should not be reheated for more than 2 days in order to preserve its physiochemical properties.

Mixture design of α-pinene, α-terpineol, and 1,8-cineole: A multiobjective response followed by chemometric approaches to optimize the antibacterial effect against various bacteria and antioxidant activity

α-Pinene, α-terpineol, and 1,8-cineole are compounds naturally present in essential oils, although their amounts vary from oil to oil. Although several studies have reported their antibacterial and antioxidant effects, there are few reports on the synergistic or antagonistic effects of their combinations. The objective of this study was to investigate the combined antibacterial effect of these three compounds. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the prediction of their optimal combination using the mixture design approach. The experimental antibacterial activity of the α-pinene, α-terpineol, and 1,8-cineole mixtures depended on the proportion of each compound in the mixture and the target strain, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 0.31 to 1.85 mg/mL. Using the increased simplex-centroid mixture design, the mixture containing 0.33% of each molecule proved to be the most effective against Bacillus cereus and had the lowest MIC values. In addition, α-pinene, α-terpineol, and 1,8-cineole showed significant antioxidant activity against 2,2-picryl-1-hydrazyl radical (DPPH), with IC50 values of 24.53 ± 0.05, 65.63 ± 0.71, and 63.58 ± 0.01 μg/mL, respectively. Statistical planning and the development of utility profiles of the substance mixtures can predict the optimal composition that will exhibit the highest antibacterial activity against B. cereus as well as antioxidant properties. Furthermore, the synergistic effect of the mixtures can contribute significantly to their successful use as natural preservatives in various applications.

Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia sclarea Essential Oils: Chemical Composition, Biological Activities and Preservative Effects against Listeria monocytogenes Inoculated into Minced Beef Meat

In this study, Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia sclarea essential oils (EOs) were investigated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to describe their chemical composition. The obtained results show, for both EOs, a profile rich in terpene metabolites, with monoterpenes predominating sesquiterpenes but with significant qualitative and quantitative differences. The main compound found in the Salvia officinalis EO (SOEO) was camphor (19.0%), while in Salvia sclarea EO (SCEO), it was linalyl acetate (59.3%). Subsequently, the in vitro antimicrobial activity of the EOs against eight pathogenic strains was evaluated. The disc diffusion method showed a significant lysis zone against Gram-positive bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged from 3.7 mg/mL to 11.2 mg/mL, indicating that each EO has specific antimicrobial activity. Both EOs also showed significant antiradical activity against DPPH radicals and total antioxidant activity. In addition, the preservative effect of SOEO (9.2%) and SCEO (9.2%), alone or in combination, was tested in ground beef, and the inhibitory effect against Listeria monocytogenes inoculated into the raw ground beef during cold storage was evaluated. Although the effect of each individual EO improved the biochemical, microbiological, and sensory parameters of the samples, their combination was more effective and showed complete inhibition of L. monocytogenes after 7 days of storage at 4 °C. The results show that both EOs could be used as safe and natural preservatives in various food and/or pharmaceutical products.

Recent progress in plant-derived polysaccharides with prebiotic potential for intestinal health by targeting gut microbiota: a review

Natural products of plant origin are of high interest and widely used, especially in the food industry, due to their low toxicity and wide range of bioactive properties. Compared to other plant components, the safety of polysaccharides has been generally recognized. As dietary fibers, plant-derived polysaccharides are mostly degraded in the intestine by polysaccharide-degrading enzymes secreted by gut microbiota, and have potential prebiotic activity in both non-disease and disease states, which should not be overlooked, especially in terms of their involvement in the treatment of intestinal diseases and the promotion of intestinal health. This review elucidates the regulatory effects of plant-derived polysaccharides on gut microbiota and summarizes the mechanisms involved in targeting gut microbiota for the treatment of intestinal diseases. Further, the structure-activity relationships between different structural types of plant-derived polysaccharides and the occurrence of their prebiotic activity are further explored. Finally, the practical applications of plant-derived polysaccharides in food production and food packaging are summarized and discussed, providing important references for expanding the application of plant-derived polysaccharides in the food industry or developing functional dietary supplements.

Recent Advances in the Incorporation of Polysaccharides with Antioxidant and Antibacterial Functions to Preserve the Quality and Shelf Life of Meat Products

Meat and meat products are susceptible to various types of natural processes such as oxidative degradation due to their high content of protein and essential amino acids. However, finding solutions to maintain the nutritional and sensory quality of meat and meat products is unavoidable. Hence, there is a pressing need to investigate alternatives to synthetic preservatives, focusing on active biomolecules of natural provenance. Polysaccharides are natural polymers of various sources that exhibit antibacterial and antioxidant properties via a variety of mechanisms, owing to their diversity and structural variation. For this reason, these biomolecules are widely studied in order to improve texture, inhibit the growth of pathogens, and improve the oxidative stability and sensory characteristics of meat products. However, the literature has not addressed their biological activity in meat and meat products. This review summarizes the various sources of polysaccharides, their antioxidant and antibacterial activities (mainly against pathogenic food strains), and their use as natural preservatives to replace synthetic additives in meat and meat products. Special attention is given to the use of polysaccharides to improve the nutritional value of meat, resulting in more nutrient-rich meat products with higher polysaccharide content and less salt, nitrites/nitrates, and cholesterol.

Biopreservative Effect of the Tunisian Halophyte Lobularia maritima Flavonoid Fraction, Used Alone and in Combination with Linalool in Stored Minced Beef Meat

In the present study, Lobularia maritima (Lm) flavonoid extract (LmFV) was characterized by HPLC analyses and five compounds were detected. Further, to describe the chemical content of the matrix, GC-MS analyses after silylation were performed; the obtained results showed the presence of a large number of components belonging to several chemical classes, mostly sugar alcohols, sugars, fatty acids, and terpenes. Firstly, the antibacterial activities of this fraction and linalool (Lin) were evaluated against eight foodborne pathogenic strains with MIC values between 2.3 and 5.8 mg/mL and 0.23 and 0.7 mg/mL, respectively. Then, the antioxidant activity of both was evaluated by the DPPH antiradical test and the phosphomolybdenum test. Furthermore, the biopreservative effect of LmFV alone and in combination with Lin on minced beef stored at 4 °C for 14 days was evaluated using microbiological and physiochemical tests. LmFV at 4.6% alone significantly reduced microbial spoilage in ground meat (p < 0.05). The combination of LmFV (4.6%) and Lin (0.46%) was more effective than LmFV alone in inhibiting bacterial contamination, reducing TBARS values and the risk of bacterial contamination, and reducing the accumulation of Met myoglobin (MetMb). This combination, therefore, extends the shelf life of the product by about 10 days. Based on these microbiological results and physicochemical parameters, it can be stated that the addition of Lin potentiates the flavonoid fraction of L. maritima more strongly against the deterioration of meat quality by significantly improving its biopreservative effect as a natural conservative.