Effects of rosemary and sage tea extracts on the sensory, chemical and microbiological changes of vacuum-packed and refrigerated sardine (Sardina pilchardus) fillets

The effect of the natural antioxidants and antimicrobials from ethanol extracts of rosemary and sage tea on sensory, chemical [Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs), peroxide value (PV), free fatty acid (FFA)] and microbiological (total viable count-TVC and total coliform count) changes of vacuum-packaged sardine (Sardina pilchardus) fillets stored at 3 +/- 1 degrees C was investigated for 20 days. The fish fillets were divided into three groups: untreated group (control, C) and treated groups that were immersed in a 1 L of distilled water containing 10 g rosemary (R group) or sage tea (S group) extracts for 4 min. The shelf life of sardine fillets was found to be 13 days for control (C), 20 days for R and S groups according to sensory assessment results, whose corresponded microbiological assessment showed a shorter shelf life (5 days for C group, 9 for R and S groups). At the end of storage period, TBARs values were 0.98 mg malonaldehyde kg(-1) for C group, 0.66 malonaldehyde kg(-1) for R group and 1.44 mg malonaldehyde kg(-1) for S group. Microbiological results showed that natural compounds from rosemary and sage tea resulted in a lower bacterial growth in fish fillets during the storage period.