Effect of Piper nigrum, Thymus vulgaris and Syzigiuim aromaticum essential oils on the microbiological and sensory quality of Pork sausages during preservation

The use of essentials oils (EOs) as alternative of nitrites and nitrates in sausages will be proposed in this study. For this purpose, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of white Piper nigrum of Penja , Thymus vulgaris and Syzigiuim aromaticum EOs were determined in vitro against Escherichia coli ATCC25922, Salmonella enteritidis 155A and Staphylococcus aureus NCTC10652. It follows from this study that, T. vulgaris EO was active on E. coli ATCC25922, S. aureus NCTC10652 and S. enteritidis 155A with MICs of 312.5, 625 and 1250 ppm, respectively. As for S. aromaticum EO, it reduced the same germs with MICs of 1250, 2500 and 5000 ppm, respectively. The combination of MICs of 1250 ( T. vulgaris ) and 5000 ppm ( S. aromaticum ) was selected (CMICR) for its bactericidal effect on 03 pathogens. The CMICR totally reduced E. coli ATCC25922 and S. enteritidis 155A after 3 days of storage. The sensory analysis shows that SAUS 324 and SAUS 589 produced with white P. nigrum of Penja were appreciated by the panelists. The combination of CMICR and white P. nigrum of Penja can be considered as an alternative to chemical preservatives to limit the growth of bacteria and improve the sensory characteristics of sausages.