Evaluation of the Effect of Moringa oleifera Leaf Extract and Powder on the Shelf Life and Safety of Oriental Sausage

Abstract

This novel study was carried out to evaluate the effect of Moringa oleifera leaf extract and leaf powder on the shelf life and safety of fresh oriental sausage. Therefore, 30 fresh oriental sausage samples were made and divided into 3 portions (10 samples of each), one as a control, while the other two portions were prepared with 1% of M. olifera leaf ethanolic extract and 2.5% M. olifera leaf powder. The prepared samples were then stuffed in a natural casing collected from sheep and kept at 4°C to be analyzed for chemical parameters (pH, TVN, and TBA) and bacteriological evaluation (psychrotrophic and Enterobacteriaceae) at the 1^st, 3^rd, 6^th ,9^th and 12^th days of storage at 4 °C. The addition of different concentrations of M. oleifera significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the chemical parameters and bacterial indices. This study concluded that the addition of 2.5% M. oleifera leaf powder to the fresh oriental sausage has a significant impact on its chemical and bacterial quality, which leads to prolonging the shelf life of the fresh oriental sausage until the 9^th day of chilling storage at 4°C.