Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Effects of Pistacia lentiscus L. Extracts in Pork Sausages
George Botsaris, Antia Orphanides, Evgenia Yiannakou, Vassilis Gekas and Vlasios Goulas*
Cyprus University of Technology, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, CY-3603 Lemesos, Cyprus
Article history:
Received January 7, 2015
Accepted July 2, 2015
Key words:
lipid oxidation, mastic tree, natural antioxidants, phenolic compounds, plant extracts, total viable count
Summary:
Pistacia lentiscus fruits are ingredients of traditional Cypriot sausages. The objective of this study is to evaluate P. lentiscus extracts as natural additives to the sausages. First, the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of fruit and leaf extracts were determined. Results revealed that leaves are richer source of polyphenolic antioxidants than fruits, with methanol being the better extraction solvent. In the next step, the antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of methanolic extracts (300 mg/kg) in the pork sausage formulation were investigated. Peroxide, acid and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance values demonstrated that both fruit and leaf extracts reduced the rate of lipid oxidation of sausages at 4 °C. Total viable count revealed significant differences on the fifth day of storage, with better microbial inhibition by leaf extract. No significant differences between the extracts were observed after the tenth day of storage. Overall, the extracts can be used to prevent lipid oxidation and reduce microbial spoilage during the first days of storage of fresh traditional pork sausages.
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