Biopreservative effect of Lactobacillus plantarum for shelf-life extension of Nemipterus japonicus mince during chilled storage

Abstract

Biopreservation is a natural preservation technique where controlled microbiota of certain Lactic acid producing bacteria and or its antimicrobial peptides is used for the extension of shelf life as well as enhancement of food safety. In this study, biopreservative effect of Lactobacillus plantarum on biochemical and microbiological parameters of Nemipterus japonicus mince was assessed. Fish mince was added with 1 per cent glucose. Fish mince was packed in sterile polyethylene bags and inoculated with L. plantarum of 104 CFU per ml. Samples were stored in chilled condition. No significant changes were observed for TVBN between control and inoculated samples upto 11th day. Thereafter, a significantly higher TVBN was observed for control samples compared to only 21 mg per cent for inoculated samples on 15th day indicating a sign of spoilage for control samples. PV and TBARS values were in the permissible limit in both cases during the entire storage period. There was a decrease of one log CFU per gram and 02 log CFU per gram in the count of Aerobic Plate Count and Pseudomonas count respectively, and increase of LAB count was found after 3rd day of storage for inoculated samples. The APC count reached to rejection level on 15th day in the inoculated samples whereas the control became unacceptable on 11th day of storage. Results suggest that L. plantarum can be considered as a preservative agent during chilled storage of N. japonicus mince to enhance its shelf-life.