Vol. 13, Issue 5 (2024)

Author(s):
M Sutha and G Gawdaman

Abstract:
The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antimicrobial and antioxidant efficacy of thyme oil on physico-chemical, microbial and sensory attributes of chicken nuggets under refrigerated condition (4±1˚C). Chicken nuggets were formulated with addition of thyme oil at 0.05%, 0.1% & 0.25% along with a control. The fresh nugget samples were analyzed for product & emulsion pH, emulsion stability, cooking yield, shear force value, proximate analysis, calorific value, DPPH scavenging activity, total phenolic content, fatty acid composition and sensory evaluation. Increased level of thyme oil significantly (p<0.05) increased the crude fibre, ether extract, DPPH scavenging activity, total phenolic content, flavor and overall acceptability of the chicken nuggets. Based on the preliminary study, chicken nuggets containing 0.1% of thyme oil was found to be optimum. The optimized nuggets were aerobically packed in LDPE pouches and evaluated for storage stability viz., product pH, free fatty acids, DPPH scavenging activity, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances value, tyrosine value, microbiological and sensory parameters for 35day’s at 7day’s interval under refrigerated condition. As the storage period progresses the quality attributes gradually and significantly (p<0.05) decreases, but were well within the limits of acceptability. Thus it is concluded that a 0.1% level of thyme oil added chicken nuggets can be effectively stored upto 28day’s under refrigerated condition (4±1˚C).