Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Basil, Thyme and Tarragon Used in Meat Products

Abstract

Currently, the food industry, including the meat industry, is paying close attention to the use of natural additives as preservatives. From ancient times, the plants are used to treat various diseases, to produce perfumes and as ingredients to improve the taste in food. This paper presents a bibliographic and experimental study of the antioxidant and microbial properties of basil, thyme and tarragon. International scientific papers on the use of these plants in the food industry, including the meat industry, are targeted. The role of basil, thyme and tarragon in the manufacture of functional and stable products in storage is mentioned. Percentage decrease in Salmonella Abony growth under the influence of basil constituted 84.4%, thyme 61.6% and tarragon 76.8% after 48 hours of action and respectively 97.2%, 90.2% and 95.3% after 72 hours of action. The interdependence between the percentage reduction of S. Abony infestation and the concentration of basil, mushrooms and tarragon was respectively: basil (R2 = 0.7725 … 0.7916), thyme (R2 = 0.7733 … 0.7768), tarragon (R2 = 0.7689 … 0.8137).