Natural Antioxidant Activity of Origanum Vulgare Extract on Chicken Nuggets

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Recent studies have shown that the consumers' demand for health-promoting food products containing bioactive principles isolated from plant materials is increasing. It is well-known that natural antioxidants extracted from herbs and spices (oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme etc.) have high antioxidant activity and are used in many food applications (Nakitani,2000). Oregano extracts were found to have scavenging activity against super oxide anions and inhibitory action on low density lipoprotein oxidation (Khaled et al.,2015). Hence, this study was aimed to assess the antioxidative property of oregano extract in chicken nuggets.

METHODS

There were four treatments of chicken meat nuggets prepared with varying concentration of oregano leaf extract: (1) Control without any antioxidant, (2) T1-oregano leaf extract at 1%, (3) T2-oregano leaf extract at 2% and (4) T3-oregano leaf extract at 3%. About 800g chicken nuggets in each zip lock pouches were packed for further study. The evaluation of organoleptic properties and peroxide value were done at in interval of 0, 15, 30, 45 1nd 60 days of frozen storage. The samples were brought to SGS Philippines for its peroxide value analysis, while the organoleptic properties were evaluated by twenty-five (25) students from Bachelor of Science in Food Technology, Laguna State Polytechnique University (LSPU)-Los Banos Campos.

RESULTS

Based from the data gathered, it was found out the Treatment 1 with 1% oregano extract were preferred by the evaluators in terms of its color. The odor of chicken nuggets with increasing concentration were moderately liked by the evaluators. On the other hand, the taste of chicken nuggets with higher concentration (3% oregano extract) were favored by the evaluators. However, in terms of its juiciness, tenderness and overall acceptability, all the treatments with increasing concentration were still favored by evaluators.In terms of its peroxide value, it was found out that there is an increasing peroxide value in the control from day 30 to day 60 of frozen storage and gradual increase in the peroxide value in treatment 1 to treatment 3 with increasing concentrations of oregano extract. Moreover, significant differences were found between the color, odor, taste, tenderness, juiciness and overall acceptability of chicken nuggets with an increasing number of storage, however, no significant differences were observed in its organoleptic properties between treatments with increasing concentration of oregano extract.

DISCUSSIONS

The results demonstrated that the use of 1 to 3% of oregano extract in chicken nuggets is effective in extending the shelf-life of chicken nuggets. However, it is important also to evaluate the shelf-life of chicken nuggets beyond 60 days using the same concentration of oregano and test for its TBARS (Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances).