Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) leaves in herbal chicken sausages Barana C. Jayawardana a, * , Ruvini Liyanage b , Nirosh Lalantha c , Supeshala Iddamalgoda a , Pabodha Weththasinghe a a Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, KY 20400, Sri Lanka b National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Hanthana Road, Kandy, KY 20000, Sri Lanka c Keells Food Products PLC, Ekala, Ja-Ela, GQ 11350, Sri Lanka article info Article history: Received 30 March 2015 Received in revised form 3 July 2015 Accepted 12 July 2015 Available online 15 July 2015 Keywords: Natural antioxidant Natural antimicrobial preservative Moringa oleifera Chicken sausage Deterioration abstract Drumstick (Moringa oleifera) leaves were evaluated for antioxidative capacity and antimicrobial activity when incorporated in chicken sausages. Different concentrations (0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1%) of M. oleifera leaves (MOL) incorporated sausages and two controls without MOL (one with added artificial antioxidant and other without any antioxidant) were prepared. TBARS value, pH, microbial analysis, sensory panel scores and instrumental color were assessed. Sausages with 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% MOL showed significantly lower (p < 0.05) TBARS value compared to 0.25% MOL and the two control samples. Sausages with 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% MOL showed significantly (p < 0.05) low pH values from the 2nd week to the 5th week of storage and significantly (p < 0.05) low Total Plate Count throughout the storage period, compared to 0.25% MOL and the two control samples. The sensory panel did not detect any difference in any sensory attribute in chicken sausages with 0.25% and 0.5% MOL compared to the controls. The study identifies the significant antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of Drumstick leaves in chicken sausages. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Chicken sausage is a minced meat product which has seen a dramatic increase in consumption throughout the world. Lipid oxidation and microbial growth are major causes of deterioration and reduced shelf life in minced meat products. Lipid oxidation may produce changes in meat quality parameters such as color, flavor, odor, texture and even nutritional value (Aguirrez abal, Mateo, Domínguez, & Zumalc aarregui, 2000) while microbial contamination can cause public health hazards and economic loss in terms of food poisoning and meat spoilage. Previous research has indicated that lipid oxidation and mi- crobial growth in meat products can be controlled or minimized by using either synthetic or natural food additives (Gray, Gomaa, & Buckley, 1996; Lee, Williams, Sloan, & Littell, 1997; Mielnik, Aaby, & Skrede, 2003). Synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene, (BHT) and tert- butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) are commonly used in the food in- dustry. However, some human health professionals and consumers (Decker & Mei, 1996) are concerned about the safety of such syn- thetic additives, which has led many meat processors to seek alternative “natural” antioxidants. Natural agents possessing both antioxidant and antimicrobial properties have the advantage of been readily accepted by both consumers and meat processors (Sallam, Ishioroshi, & Samejima, 2004). Moringa oleifera is widely cultivated in Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries. It has both nutritional and medicinal value including some useful vitamins, minerals and amino acids, etc. (S anchez-Machado, Nú~ nez-Gast elum, Reyes-Moreno, Ramírez- Wong, & L opez-Cervantes, 2010). Immature pods (fruit) of M. oleifera is a very popular vegetable in Sri Lanka but almost all parts of this plant such as leaves, roots, bark, flowers and seeds are used to treat various ailments in indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries, including the treatment of inflammation and infectious diseases along with cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, hematological and hepatorenal disorders. (Morimitsu et al., 2000). The leaves are an exceptionally good source of protein, provitamin A, vitamins B and C, minerals * Corresponding author. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Kandy, KY 20400, Sri Lanka. E-mail addresses: baranaj@pdn.ac.lk, baranaj2000@yahoo.com (B.C. Jayawardana), ruvini@ifs.ac.lk (R. Liyanage), lalantha.kfp@keells.com (N. Lalantha), pabodhaweththasinghe@gmail.com (P. Weththasinghe). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect LWT - Food Science and Technology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lwt http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2015.07.028 0023-6438/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. LWT - Food Science and Technology 64 (2015) 1204e1208