Abstract
The present work aims to investigate the impact of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) essential oils on the microbiological, chemical, and sensory characteristics of carp (Cyprinus carpio) fish flesh fingers (CFF) during cold storage at 4 degrees C. The results showed that treatments with essential oils reduced the initial total bacterial count, psychrophilic bacteria, total mold and yeast as well as prolonged the shelf-life of treated-CFF samples compared to control. The counts of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus were reduced. During cold storage, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, total volatile nitrogen (TVN) and trimethylamine (TMA) contents were gradually increased. The results of sensory evaluation showed that the shelf life of CFF was 4 days for the control samples, and 12, 10, 8, and 6 days for the samples treated with rosemary, cinnamon, fennel, and cardamom essential oils, respectively. In conclusion, the addition of essential oils (in particular rosemary oil) showed positive effects on the CFF shelf-life and quality traits. According to the results, essential oils under study might be used as a potential source of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agents.