To develop multi-antioxidant systems for the preservation of meat products, mixtures of essential oils or plant extracts were investigated for their antioxidant interactions. The combinatorial study revealed that the chemical diversity of both major and minor components of these ingredients contributed to the antioxidant interactions. A shift from antagonistic or additive interaction to synergistic one was achieved by modulating the ratio of mono-components of multi-antioxidant systems. Mixtures containing oregano/thyme (25/50 of IC50), thyme/clove (25/100) and thyme/cinnamon (50/25) oils as well as cranberry/rosemary (25/25), cranberry/green tea (25/25), cranberry/apple (25/25), rosemary/apple (50/25) and grapeseed/cranberry (50/50) extracts have shown synergistic antioxidant effects. Among the investigated systems, thyme/clove oils and oregano/thyme oils/grape-seed extract systems have extended, in situ, the shelf-life of chicken and ground pork products stored at 4 °C by 2 to 4 folds. The sensory acceptability of treated samples was rated to be moderately better than control. This study lays the ground for the development of efficient natural multi-antioxidant systems.
Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-022-05653-4.
Keywords: Essential oils; Meat products; Multi-antioxidant systems; Plant extracts; Sensory evaluation; Shelf-life extension; Synergistic interactions.
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