Study the antimicrobial effects of chitosan-based edible film containing the Trachyspermum ammi essential oil on shelf-life of chicken meat

Packaging using chitosan-based edible films incorporated with natural essential oils is a safe and economic way to increase the shelf-life and acceptability of food products and especially chicken meat. Trachyspermum ammi is a natural medicinal plant with high antimicrobial effects cultivated in Iran. The present research was done to study the antimicrobial effects of chitosan-based edible film containing T. ammi essential oil on shelf-life of chicken meat. T. ammi fruits were collected and dried. Essential oil was extracted from plants using the Clevenger's apparatus. High molecular weight chitosan with 1% and 2% concentrations of T. ammi essential oil were used for coating of chicken fillets. Treatments were stored at 4 degrees C for 12 days. Count of the total aerobic, total psychrophilic and coliform bacteria had ranges of 3.8 +/- 0.25 to 8.32 +/- 0.26, 4 +/- 0.23 to 8.65 +/- 0.28 and 1.8 +/- 0.09 to 5.62 +/- 0.16 CFU/g during the storage period. Antimicrobial effects were significantly increased with the incorporation of T. ammi essential oil (P< 0.05). Antimicrobial effects were also depended on the concentration of T. ammi essential oil (P< 0.05). Chitosan film incorporated with 2% T. ammi essential oil had the highest inhibitory effects on total aerobic, total psychrophilic and coliform bacteria (P< 0.05). Our results pointed out that the incorporation of T. ammi essential oil at 2% concentration has potential for using the developed chitosan edible film as an active packaging of chicken meat.