Research Article

Effect of Iraqi Propolis on Shelf Life of Poultry Meat

Yaman Saad Fadhil

Department of Veterinary Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq.

Received | September 25, 2022; Accepted | April 09, 2023; Published | June 09, 2023

*Correspondence | Yaman Saad Fadhil, Department of Veterinary Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq; Email: ymansaadds@uomosul.edu.iq

Citation | Fadhil, Y.S., 2023. Effect of Iraqi propolis on shelf life of poultry meat. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 36(2): 130-134.

DOI | https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjar/2023/36.2.130.134

Keywords | Propolis, Food preservative, Sensory quality, Chicken meat, Bacterial infection

Copyright: 2023 by the authors. Licensee ResearchersLinks Ltd, England, UK.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Introduction

Chicken meat is one of the most nutrient-dense diets for harmful microbes. Improper cooking and a lack of hygiene requirements during the slaughtering process, piecing, packing, distribution, and conservation can result in food diseases or poisoning (Mead, 2005). Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, S. aureus, and E. coli are among the most typical harmful microbes transmitted through poultry meat. To preserve customers health, contaminations from such microorganisms must be eradicated or minimized (Jay et al., 2008; Nollet et al., 2012). Preserving meat refers to any process that prevents the growth of microorganisms while also slowing fat oxidation. Meat conservation techniques include drying, smoking, seasoning, supervised fermentation, chilling, packing, pasteurization, irradiation, as well as the use of synthetic and organic preservatives (Goswami et al., 2019).

Propolis is a one of a kind combination of wax and resin obtained by honeybees from trees, most notably flowers and leaves buds, and combined with saliva and other bee liquids and also waxes. The principal bioactive components in propolis are flavonoids, aromatic acids, and phenolic components like galanin and pinocembrin (Koohsar et al., 2018). Worker bees take full advantage of propolis’s antibacterial and antifungal properties to preserve the hive from microbes.

Propolis extract possesses antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant properties (Huang et al., 2014). In normal doses, propolis is not hazardous to humans, and it is applicable as a conservative in beverages, livestock meat, agricultural and milk products, along with pharmacological and beauty goods. Its antibacterial and antioxidant characteristics make it an excellent option for artificial preservatives (Khezri et al., 2006; Kubiliene et al., 2015).

Koohsar et al. (2018) have shown that using different concentrations from 3% to 7% v/w water and alcohol extracts of propolis in seafood fillets enhanced lifespan for nine days of chilled storage without compromising sensory characteristics qualities when compared to the control sample. Rijadiputri (2014) applied propolis extract at various concentrations up to 20% in poultry meat and reported that propolis extract at17.5% can inhabit pathogens development, keep the pH in the standard range, preserve the sensory properties of chicken meat consistent, and lengthen the lifespan. This study aims to investigate the possibility of the Iraqi propolis aqueous extract to be used as a natural antimicrobial to preserve food, by testing for the microbial and sensory properties of the socked chicken meat which was stored for 12 days at 4°C temperature. In this study, the possibility of natural antimicrobial compounds, Jordanian propolis.

Materials and Methods

Materials

Chicken meat specimens (20 samples of chicken breast) were collected from the local market of Mosul city (Iraq), transported to the lab under proper hygiene settings, and stored in the refrigerator. The propolis was purchased from Baghdad province, transported to the lab, and stored at -20 °C till the experiment.

Preparations of water propolis extract

The method used in preparing the extract was the soaking technique and produced in accordance with the recommended method by (Krell, 1996). A 5% water extract of Propolis was obtained by combining 200 mL water and 10 g of Propolis, a 10% extract was made by combining 200 mL water and 20 g of Propolis, and a 15% extract was formed via combining 200 mL water and 30 g of Propolis. These extracts were maintained in a glass bottle with the lid sealed for a week and shaken twice a day before being purified and stored in clean containers at 4oC until usage.

Preparing marinated chicken breasts

The chicken meat samples were separated into four sections and placed in four containers. The water extract of Propolis was applied at a concentration of 0, 5, 10, and 15% v/w. After 0, 4, 8, and 12 days of storage, microbiological, and sensory analysis were performed on all of the samples.

Microbiological analysis

Microbiological sampling and testing were taken using AOAC (2019) for the total bacterial count. Payandan et al. (2017) for Staphylococcus aureus count and Shahbazi et al. (2016) for Escherichia coli count.

Sensory analysis

Sensory assessments were conducted with eight trained testers. The assessors all presumed the basic odour and colour vision tests. The presented samples weighed 40 g of chicken breast and were served to assessors at room temperature in dishes. The meat’s colour, odour, and overall acceptability were all assessed. Before each assessment, each evaluator drank a glass of water and randomly tested the samples. Every factor was graded on a five scale, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest (Qaziyani et al., 2019).

Statistical analysis

The data were analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the findings were presented as mean/standard deviation (SD). To detect significant differences among treatments at (P<0.05), Duncan multiple range tests was used.

Results and Discussion

The bacterial counts for different food pathogens are shown in Figures 1, 2, 3. For the total bacterial count throughout the storage period at 4oC, the control treatment had the highest count, which ranged from (6.28 to 7.83 log cfu/g). The total bacterial count in all the treatments increased throughout the storage period. In comparison to the control treatment, the rapid growth in the majority of the treated samples was slower. This was noticed with the treated samples with a higher concentration of propolis extract, and it was significant (p<0.05). Similar findings have been mentioned by (Jafari et al., 2018; Shavisi et al., 2017), when the water extract of propolis is applied to chicken fillet, ground beef and fish, leads to increase of the life span. The increasing growth of total count in treatments that contain propolis extract was not shown at the beginning of the storage period. These results contradicted those of Jafari et al. (2018) and Shavisi et al. (2017), and the reason for these results might be back to the lower concentration of propolis extract used in this study. In the research (El-Deeb, 2017), a reduction in the count of total bacteria was observed in raw milk with increased dosages of propolis extract.

 

 

The increasing growth of S. aureus and E. coli was in all the treatments, and it was noticed that increasing the extract doses has led to significantly lower growth of the two microbes than the control treatment (p<0.05). These findings are similar to what (Payandan et al., 2017) reported in their study on groundfish to stop the S. aureus growth. Propolis extract has also been proven to prevent the growth of S. aureus in a study (El-Bassiony et al., 2012). Queiroga et al. (2018) have also reported a similar effective impact against S. aureus more than that in E. coli. Our results agree with the results of (Abotorab et al., 2020; Przyblek and Karpinski, 2019).

 

 

The chemical examination of propolis has identified over 300 compounds (Salatino et al., 2005). Its primary components are phenolics, which include flavonoids, phenolic acids, and esters (Bankova, 2005). These bioactive compounds improve cell membrane permeability, resulting in the breakdown of cells and, as a result, microbe growth inhibition or death. Propolis has been shown to have antimicrobial action in vitro against many Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens (Przybylek and Karpinski, 2019). This phenomenon can be explained due to the variety of propolis content and interactions between them, that even can be shown at low concentrations (Bankova et al., 2019).

Sensory evaluation

Natural food additives are commonly used in food items to improve nutritional content, shelf life, texture, flavour, and appearance (Balestra and Petracci, 2019).

The impacts of propolis on the sensory parameters were significant (p<0.05) in all scores except for the brittleness scores, as shown in (Figure 4). The effect of propolis extract caused a significant difference in the colour parameters, especially with the addition of 10 and 15% of propolis extract, which caused the lowest score in colour in compression with the control and the other treatment. The findings are similar to what Payandan et al. (2017) have reported.

A significant difference (P>0.05) was not found in the odour score of chicken meat among samples having different dosages of propolis. However, compared to the control treatment, a significant difference (P<0.05) was found, and the lowest score was found in the control treatment at (3.86). The presence of off-odour could be attributed to protein degradation during storage. The addition of propolis extract slowed this behaviour. The acquired findings are comparable to those of (Payandan et al., 2017; Suarez et al., 2014).

For the overall appearance, no significant differences (P>0.05) were noticed at the doses of 0, 5 and 10% of propolis extract. The fall in overall acceptance at the 15% concentration could be attributed to the decrease in the color score.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The current study concluded that (a) the addition of water extract of propolis can be consider as a natural antimicrobial against infectious pathogens from contaminating the chicken meat, which lead to extend the span life precisely when meat kept under fridge temperature, (b) in addition, the quality of the chicken meat preserved in terms of organoleptic properties, especially in the addition of 5 % and 10% of the Iraqi propolis extract where the general accepting were same as the control treatment. This study confirms that the addition of water extract of propolis can be consider as a natural antimicrobial against infectious microbes from contaminating the chicken meat, and leads to extend the span life of the chicken meat precisely when meat kept under fridge temperature. The use of propolis could be suggested as a preservative replacing the chemical preservative (methylparaben, propylparaben, Sodium benzoate, and benzoic acids) which are in current use.

Acknowledgement

The Department of Veterinary public health at the College of Veterinary Medicine/ University of Mosul is warmly acknowledged for providing necessary research facilities.

Novelty Statement

Iraqi propolis aqueous extract contains natural antimicrobial components which have positive effect on Food quality and its shelf life, to which the present study is a minor addition.

Conflict of interest

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

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