Sage (Salvia officinalis L.) Essential Oil as a Potential Replacement for Sodium Nitrite in Dry Fermented Sausages

Novel strategies for controlling nitrite content in prepared dishes: Current status, potential benefits, limitations and future challenges

Sodium nitrite is commonly used as a multifunctional curing ingredient in the processing of prepared dishes, especially meat products, to impart unique color, flavor and to prolong the shelf life of such products. However, the use of sodium nitrite in the meat industry has been controversial due to potential health risks. Finding suitable substitutes for sodium nitrite and controlling nitrite residue have been a major challenge faced by the meat processing industry. This paper summarizes possible factors affecting the variation of nitrite content in the processing of prepared dishes. New strategies for controlling nitrite residues in meat dishes, including natural pre-converted nitrite, plant extracts, irradiation, non-thermal plasma and high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), are discussed in detail. The advantages and limitations of these strategies are also summarized. Raw materials, cooking techniques, packaging methods, and storage conditions all affect the content of nitrite in the prepared dishes. The use of vegetable pre-conversion nitrite and the addition of plant extracts can help reduce nitrite residues in meat products and meet the consumer demand for clean labeled meat products. Atmospheric pressure plasma, as a non-thermal pasteurization and curing process, is a promising meat processing technology. HHP has good bactericidal effect and is suitable for hurdle technology to limit the amount of sodium nitrite added. This review is intended to provide insights for the control of nitrite in the modern production of prepared dishes.

Effects of cranberry powder on the diversity of microbial communities and quality characteristics of fermented sausage

Fermented sausage is popular with many consumers because of its distinctive flavor, but the safety of it has attracted widespread attention. At present, nitrite is widely used in fermented meat products because of its ideal color and bacteriostatic effect, but nitrite can be transformed into nitrosamines, which cause strong carcinogenic effects. Therefore, it is urgent to actively explore safe and efficient nitrite substitutes. In this study, cranberry powder was selected as a natural substitute for nitrite during the production of fermented sausage due to its unique antioxidant and bacteriostatic properties. The results showed that adding an appropriate amount of cranberry powder (5 g/kg) promoted a better color of the fermented sausage and promoted the accumulation of aromatic compounds. Furthermore, Pediococcus and Staphylococcus became the dominant species, accounting for more than 90% in all samples. According to the Pearson correlation analysis, Staphylococcus and Pediococcus had positive effects on the quality characteristics of fermented sausage products. This study provided the latest information on the application of cranberry powder as a natural substitute for nitrite in the process of manufacturing fermented sausage, and it also introduced an advanced solution to improve the quality characteristics and safety of fermented sausage products during processing.

Impact of microencapsulated Ziziphora tenuior essential oil and orange fiber as natural-functional additives on chemical and microbial qualities of cooked beef sausage

The aim of the current study was to investigate the suitability of Ziziphora tenuior essential oil (ZEO) as a preservative. For this purpose, the effect of free and microencapsulated ZEO, combined with orange fiber, was determined on the chemical and microbial qualities of cooked beef sausage. In this study, modified starch was used for encapsulation of essential oil, and subsequently, 0.5% ZEO and 1% orange fiber were used for preparing cooked beef sausages during 60 days of storage at 4°C. To assess the microbial quality of samples, total viable count (TVC), psychrophilic count (PSY), and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were analyzed. Furthermore, peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were tested to examine lipid oxidation. The most components of ZEO were pulegone (47.12%), isomenthone (14.57%), and 1,8-cineole (12.84%) according to GC-MS analysis. The reducing power, DPPH radical scavenging activity, MIC, and MBC of ZEO were 16.44 (EC50), 8.36 (IC50), 0.625-2.5, and 1.25-5 mg/ml, respectively. Moreover, sausage containing 0.5% microencapsulated ZEO in combination with 1% orange fiber showed the best results with the following values (p ≤ .05): TVC (3.69 log CFU/g), PSY (3.51 log CFU/g), LAB (3.1 log CFU/g), PV (10.41 meq/kg lipid), and TBARS (3.1 mg MDA/kg). This is due to the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of microencapsulated essential oil. Therefore, the results of the present study can be applied in the meat industries as a new natural preservation method.

Variation of Salvia officinalis L. Essential Oil and Hydrolate Composition and Their Antimicrobial Activity

This study aimed to investigate the chemical composition of steam distillate essential oil and corresponding hydrolate obtained from S. officinalis grown in Serbia, as well as the influence of weather conditions (temperature and precipitations) on their chemical profiles. Furthermore, their antimicrobial activity was investigated in vitro. The main compounds in essential oil were cis-thujone, followed by camphor, trans-thujone, and 1,8-cineole, while hydrolate was slightly different from the essential oil, with camphor, cis-thujone, and 1,8-cineole as the main compounds. Among the eight respiratory-associated microorganisms, Klebsiella oxytoca was the most sensitive to the tested EOs (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)/minimal bactericidal/fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC) were 14.20 and 28.4 μL mL−1, respectively). MIC and MBC values of other tested bacteria ranged between 28.40 and 227.25 μL mL−1 while for Candida albicans MIC/MFC ranged from 28.40/56.81 to 56.81–113.63 μL mL−1. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns for the analyzed eight respiratory-associated microorganisms showed an intermediate level of resistance to commonly used antibiotics such as ampicillin, levofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin. As a preliminary approach to the antimicrobial profiling of the tested EO, the obtained results revealed that the tested samples possess remarkable antibacterial activities and could be used to develop pharmaceutical formulations as an alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy.

Functional and Clean Label Dry Fermented Meat Products: Phytochemicals, Bioactive Peptides, and Conjugated Linoleic Acid

Consumer demand for specific dietary and nutritional characteristics in their foods has risen in recent years. This trend in consumer preference has resulted in a strong emphasis in the meat industry and scientific research on activities aimed at improving the nutritional value of fermented meat products. These types of meat products are valued by modern consumers due to their nutritional value resulting, among others, from the method of production. One of the major focuses of the current innovations includes the incorporation of bioactive compounds from plant-based food, in relation to the replacement of additives that may raise concerns among consumers (mainly nitrate and nitrite) as well as the modification of processing conditions in order to increase the content of bioactive compounds. Many efforts have been focused on reducing or eliminating the presence of additives, such as curing agents (nitrite or nitrate) in accordance with the idea of “clean label”. The enrichment of fermented meat products in compounds from the plant kingdom can also be framed in the overall strategies of functional meat products design, so that the meat products may be used as the vehicle to deliver bioactive compounds that may exert benefits to the consumer.

Preparation, Characterization, and Biocompatibility Assessment of Polymer-Ceramic Composites Loaded with Salvia officinalis Extract

In the present work, hydroxyapatite-polymer materials were developed. The preparation, as well as characterization of the ceramic-polymer composites based on polyvinylpyrrolidone, sodium alginate, and gelatin were described. The system was enriched with the addition of common sage extract (Salvia officinalis). The antioxidant potential of sage aqueous extract and total polyphenol content was determined. The antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content of extract were equal to 86.06 ± 0.49% and 16.21 ± 0.58 mg gallic acid equivalents per gram of dry weight, respectively. Incubation studies in selected biological liquids were carried out to determine the biomineralization capacity on the surface of the composites and to examine the kinetics of release of the active substances from within the material. As a result of the incubation, a gradual release of the extract over time from the polymer matrix was observed; moreover, the appearance of new apatite layers on the composite surface was recorded as early as after 14 days, which was also confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) microanalysis. The composites were analyzed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy, and the morphology was recorded by scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging. The in vitro biological studies allowed their cytotoxic effect on the reference L929 fibroblasts to be excluded. Further analysis of the biomaterials showed that enrichment with polyphenols does not support the adhesion of L929 cells to the surface of the material. However, the addition of these natural components stimulates human monocytes that constitute the first step of tissue regeneration.