Freeze‐dried, oven‐dried, and microencapsulation of essential oil from <i>Allium sativum</i> as potential preservative agents of minced meat

Abstract

The present study was conducted to compare the antibacterial activity of oven-dried and freeze-dried <i>Allium sativum</i> along with its spray-dried microencapsulated essential oil in the preservation of minced beef meat. <i>Allium sativum</i> extracts were tested against mesophilic aerobic microorganisms, coagulase-positive <i>staphylococci</i>, <i>Escherichia coli</i>, <i>Salmonella</i> sp., and the sulfite-reducing anaerobes. A difference between the chemical compositions of powders obtained by the conventional oven-drying and freeze-drying has been verified by HPLC-MS², freeze-dried fresh garlic powder contains 74% of allicin, and 12% cysteine sulfoxides comparing to the oven-drying garlic powder in which is detected two thiosulfinate isomers: allicin (67%) and allyl-1-propenyl thiosulfinate (21%). CIELAB color analysis was performed to assess the effect of drying temperature on powders. The microflora-inhibiting effect of freeze-dried fresh garlic and the spray-dried microencapsulated essential oil at a concentration of 20% represents a promising way to be used in food systems such as meat and meat products preservation, at 4-8°C.