EFFECT OF MORINGA OLEIFERA ON THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF SEMI-DRY FERMENTED SAUSAGE

Abstract

Nowadays, new preservation techniques are being developed to extend the storage time with maintaining both the quality and safety of meat products. Synthetic preservatives as nitrite, sorbate and BHT have been widely used for preserving meat products such as sausages. However, there is an association between consumption of the processed meat containing these preservatives and increase the risk of different diseases. Unlike synthetic compounds, the natural extracts obtained from plants are rich in phenolic compounds and flavonoids which can enhance the overall quality of the products by decreasing the lipid oxidation and microbial growth. Moreover, the plant extracts are considered rich source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, essential fatty and amino acids so they can improve the nutritional value of the products treated with them. M. Oleifera aqueous extract is a multifunctional compound as it exhibits potent antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in addition; it can provide various health benefits to the consumers.

Application of M. Oleifera leaves as a natural preservative in meat processing area has been progressively increased but still limited on few numbers of the products such as fresh sausages and burger patties. Moreover, there was not enough information about the functional effects of M. Oleifera seeds on the overall quality of the meat products. In general, the studies that investigated the effect of using of M. Oleifera on the nutritional value and sensory quality of meat products are scarce. Therefore, the main objective of the current work was to study the effect of using M. Oleifera leaves and seeds aqueous extracts on the physicochemical, microbiological, sensory and nutritional quality attributes as well as on the biogenic amines contents of semi-dry fermented sausage.

The research work of this study has been divided into two parts. In the first part, effect of Moringa oleifera aqueous extracts on the physicochemical characteristics, microbiological quality and biogenic amines of semi-dry fermented sausage has been