Effect of the aromatisation with summer savory (<i>Satureja hortensis</i>L.) essential oil on the oxidative and microbial stabilities of liquid whole eggs during storage

Abstract

The Algerian essential oil (EO) extracted by hydro-distillation from Satureja hortensis L. (S. hortensis) was characterised by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). S. hortensis (summer savory) was chemotype carvacrol (54.2%) and γ-terpinene (21.1%). In its second part, the present study was conducted to evaluate in vitro, antioxidant activity of savory EO using the 2,2-di-phenyl-1-picrilhydrazyl (DPPH•) free radical scavenging assay. Finally, the EO was screened for biological activities in liquid whole eggs (LWE). The ability of savory EO to scavenge the free radical (DPPH∙) was very high, exceeding 80%. The long-term oxidative and microbial stability of LWE was positively influenced by EO treatments, increasing the shelf life to more than eight (> 8) days under refrigeration. Therefore, the results obtained in this work confirm savory EO treatment as a promising technology to extend the commercial shelf life of liquid egg products, as well as to maintain the quality of LWE as ingredient in innovative food products.