Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Effects of Thymus daenensis and Camellia sinensis Ethanolic Extracts of Chicken Meat During Frozen Storage

Thymus daenensis Celak. And Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze are two important medicinal plants with boost antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The current research was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial, and antioxidant activity of T. daenensis and C. sinensis extracts on chicken meat during frozen storage. The extraction was isolated from the aerial parts of T. daenensis and C. sinensis. Chicken samples were treated into different concentrations of C. sinensis and T. daenensis. Chemical, microbial and sensory properties of treated chicken samples were analyzed through 60 days storage at -18 °C. Samples treated with C. sinensis (0.5%) and T. daenensis (0.5%) had the lowest pH (6.25 ± 0.19), total volatile nitrogen (33.68 ± 0.64 mg/100 g chicken meat) and thiobarbituric acid (1.01 ± 0.00 mg malonaldehyde/kg oil). Furthermore, chicken samples treated with C. sinensis (0.5%) and T. daenensis (0.5%) had the lowest loads of total bacteria (10.91 ± 0.81 log CFU/g), L. monocytogenes (5.82 ± 0.82 log CFU/g) and psychrophilic bacteria (6.16 ± 0.22 log CFU/g) and the best sensory properties. C. sinensis and T. daenensis extracts are efficient candidate as natural preservatives for chicken meat.