Evaluation of the chemical and antibacterial properties of Citrus paradise essential oil and its application in Lallemantia iberica seed mucilage edible coating to improve the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory properties of lamb during refrigerated storage

There is an increasing demand for bioactive-loaded bio-based packaging materials to obtain food products with extended shelf-life and improved quality. The aims of the present study were to fabricate a Citrus paradise essential oil (CPEO)-loaded Lallemantia iberica seed mucilage (LISM) based edible coating and to evaluate the effects of the CPEO-LISM edible coating on the preservation of lamb slices during cold storage for 9 days. CPEO was rich in limonene (79.4%) with superb antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Its incorporation into the edible coating (at 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2% v/v) effectively inhibited the microbial growth (total viable count, psychrotrophic count, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and fungi) and lipid oxidation (peroxide and thiobarbituric values) in lamb slices. The meat color (L*, a*, b*) and sensory properties were also preserved by the edible coating containing CPEO, and the bioactive edible coating based on LISM and CPEO, particularly LISM + 2%CPEO significantly inhibited quality deterioration of lamb slices and improved the shelf-life of the meat (> 9 days). The results suggested that the LISM-CPEO edible coating could be developed as an antioxidant and antimicrobial packaging to improve the shelf-life of various meat products.