Effects of Gelatin Films Supplemented with Thyme Essential Oil on Beef Meatballs Quality During Cold Storage

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 69 - 81, 31.12.2025

Maliha Afreen İlknur Uçak

Abstract

Meat is very important for human nutrition due to its rich nutritious content, but beef meat is more susceptible to spoilage because of its high moisture, and lipid content. In this study we used gelatin films supplemented with thyme essential oil to preserve beef meatballs. We prepared three groups of beef meatballs, one without gelatin films known as control group (C), other two groups wrapped with gelatin film supplemented with 1% and 2% thyme essential oil (G1 and G2) and kept in cold storage for 12 days. We conduct Physicochemical and microbiological analysis to evaluate the quality of beef meatballs. After physicochemical analysis it was found that initial peroxide value of beef meatballs was 1.25 meq O2/kg which increased to 6.75, 5.75 and 4.75 meq O2/kg in C, G1 and G2 groups respectively. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance initial value was 0.67 mgMDA/kg which increased in all samples at the end of storage as 4.63, 4.06 and 3.83 mgMDA/kg in C, G1 and G2 groups respectively. After microbiological analysis it was found that initial value of Total psychrophilic count was 1.80 log CFU/g which increased after storage to 6.81, 6.12 and 5.27 log CFU/g in C, G1 and G2 groups respectively. Total mesophilic bacteria count was 2.03log CFU/g at the beginning of storage which increased to 6.53, 5.72 and 5.03 log CFU/g in C, G1 and G2 respectively at the end of the storage. Similarly Total Enterobacteriaceae count was found to be 1.72 log CFU/g at the beginning of the storage, which increased to 5.68, 5.37 and 4.52 log CFU/g in the C, G1 and G2 respectively. So, it was concluded from these results that those meatball samples which wrapped with gelatin film supplemented with 2% thyme essential oil have more antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity as compared to control samples.

Keywords

Antioxidant , Antimicrobial , Gelatin , Nutritious , Thyme essential oil

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