Incorporation of betel leaf extract provides oxidative stability and improves phytochemical, textural, sensory and antimicrobial activities of buffalo meat sausages

The antioxidant effect of betel leaf extract (BLE) on lipid and protein oxidation, microbial count and physico-chemical attributes was investigated in meat sausages during refrigerated storage at 4 +/- 1 degrees C. Buffalo meat sausages were developed after incorporating 0, 250, 500 and 750 mg kg-1 of BLE (BLE0, BLE1, BLE2 and BLE3) respectively. The sausages showed no changes in proximate composition due to BLE inclusion, but there was an improvement in microbial quality, color score, textural properties and lipid and protein oxidative stability. Further, higher sensory scores were observed for the BLE-incorporated samples. The images from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a reduction in surface roughness and unevenness showing microstructure modification in BLE treated sausages compared to the control sausages. Hence, to improve the storage stability and impede the rate of lipid oxidation in sausages, BLE incorporation proved to be an effective strategy.

Automated summary

The study found that the antioxidant effect of betel leaf extract (BLE) improved the microbial quality, color score, textural properties, and lipid and protein oxidative stability of meat sausages during refrigerated storage. The inclusion of BLE did not affect the proximate composition of the sausages. In addition, sensory scores were higher for the BLE-incorporated samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that BLE treatment resulted in reduced surface roughness and microstructure modification compared to the control sausages. Therefore, incorporating BLE is an effective strategy to improve storage stability and reduce lipid oxidation in sausages.