Rosemary Versus Chicken

Kahraman, Issa, Bingoli, Basaran, Kahraman, and Dumen (2015) wanted to help solve the problem of food safety and tested rosemary to see if it could be used as a meat preservative in replacement of other methods.  The essential oil they used came from fresh leaves that were air-dried then steam distilled.  The oil was diluted to .05%, .1%, ;2%, .3%, .5%, and 1%.  After being added to broth, they were tested sat the 0, 4, 8, 12, and 24-hour marks.  They were tested against Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes. 

For the taste portion, they established a panel with four males and two females.  The panel was then trained on terminology such as too sweet and given a scale on 1-5 where 1 was dislike extremely and 5 was like extremely.  The chicken samples were refrigerated for 1, 3, 5, and 7 days prior to cooking. 

The components of the oil used in this study were 1,8-cineole, a-pinene, camphor, 2a-pinene, camphen, and caryophyllene. They reminded the reader the composition of the oil depends on region the plant is from, plant variety and the extraction method.  The sample they used came from Turkey.  

In this study, the bacteria growth was inhibited at concentrations of .2% and higher.  They mentioned another study where the oil was not effective against Salmonella Typhimurium.  They mentioned the strain of bacteria used may account for the difference as well as the reasons mentioned for the differences in the oil composition.  It is believed the anti-bacteria properties are from 1,8-cineole and a-pinene.  1,8-cineole is most prominent in the samples from the region of Turkey containing at least 40% of the oil. 

For the tasting portion, no meat was actually consumed because the bacteria was not deteriorated enough to qualify for consumption despite how effective it was on the broth.  At concentrations higher than .2%, the rosemary scent was stronger and the color decreased in brightness.  The oil was effective at reducing the oxidation of the meat. 
 
Have a Great Day!

Kahramany, T., Issa, G., Bingoli, E. B., Basaran, B., Kahraman, B. B., and Dumen, E. (2015).  Effect of rosemary essential oil and modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) on meat quality and survival of pathogens in poultry fillets. Brazilian Journal of Microbiology 46(2):591-599.