مشخصات پژوهش

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of chitosan edible coating containing Eryngium campestre (zulang) essen-tial oil (EO) nanoemulsion on the quality of ostrich meat during refrigerated storage. Main components of the EO included ger-macrene D, campestrolide, salvial- 4(14)-en-1-one, and α-bisabolol. The zulang nanoemulsion droplets had an average diameter of75 nm and a zeta potential of −32 mV. The samples were coated with chitosan and chitosan incorporated with 1%, 2.5%, and 5% ofzulang EO nanoemulsion, stored at 4°C for 12 days, and physicochemical (free fatty acid (FFA), peroxide value (PV), pH, total vol-atile basis nitrogen (TVB-N), drip loss, and texture), and microbial analysis were carried out. Samples treated with chitosan/2.5%or 5% EO nanoemulsion had significantly lower FFA, PV, TVB-N content, and microbial (mesophiles, Enterobacteriaceae, psy-chrotrophs) counts during cold storage in comparison to the samples coated with pure chitosan and control. Also, the treatmentscontaining chitosan and 2.5% or 5% EO nanoemulsion showed lower shear force, higher texture tenderness, and lower drip loss.The treatments' efficiency as antimicrobial agents and maintaining physicochemical properties were as follows: chitosan/5% EOnanoemulsion > chitosan/2.5% EO nanoemulsion > chitosan/1% EO nanoemulsion > chitosan. The findings suggest that combin-ing chitosan with EO nanoemulsion enhances its interaction with the food matrix, facilitating better dispersion and sustainedrelease of the EO, which ensures a more uniform antimicrobial effect throughout the food product.