Potency of Combination of Essential Oils of Ginger and Lemongrass as Fresh Chicken Meat Natural Preservative

Essential oil of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is known for their antimicrobial activity. The purposes of this study were to analysis the chemical constituents of essential oils of ginger and lemongrass, and determine its potency as natural preservative in fresh chicken meat. The essential oils were obtained from a hydro distillation process. Analysis of chemical constituents was performed with Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (GCMS). Potency as food preservative was analyzed by their organoleptic test and the count of the bacterial colony on the preserved chicken meat cultured on Nutrient Agar (NA). The major constituents of essential oil of ginger were alpha-curcumene (30.12%), champene (13.93%) and zingeberene (13.82%). The dominant constituents of essential oil of lemongrass were geranyl acetate (19.72%), geraniol (19.06%), and citronellal (17.83%). The combination of essential oils of ginger and lemongrass at any given concentrations were more potent in preserving fresh chicken meat than that of single use of respective essential oils. The combination of essential oils of ginger and lemongrass at concentration ratio of 0.2:2% was capable of preserving chicken meat for 15 days and extended the shelf life of chicken meat for 9 days at a temperature of 2-7 degrees C.