Preservative effect of Asparagus racemosus: A novel additive for bioactive edible films for improved lipid oxidative stability and storage quality of meat products

Asparagus racemosus was used as a bioactive ingredient for the development of a novel calcium alginate edible film with preservative potential for improved lipid oxidative stability and storage quality of meat products. Chevon sausages were used as a model system and were aerobically packaged in the edible films incorporated with A. racemosus viz. T-0 (0.0%), T-1 (1.0%) and T-2 (2.0%) and were stored under refrigerated (4 +/- 1 degrees C) conditions. Products packaged in T-1 and T-2 edible films exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) lower values for TBARS (mg malonaldehyde/kg), microbial counts (cfu/g) and FFA (% oleic acid) indicating the bioactive properties of the developed films. Significantly (P < 0.05) higher sensory scores were recorded for the products packaged in T-1 and T-2 films. A. racemosus added antioxidant and antimicrobial properties to the developed films which improved the lipid oxidative stability and storage quality of the model meat product.