Evaluation of microbial change in chicken meat applied with lemon essential oil

Chicken meat can be easily contaminated by microorganisms. Therefore, chicken meat is a product that should be treated very carefully from production to consumption since it is a perishable food. Many methods are applied to protect meat and meat products from harmful microorganisms. However, today, the tendency towards natural preservatives, which are considered more reliable in terms of health, has increased. In this study, it was aimed to benefit from the antimicrobial properties of naturally obtained lemon essential oil and to evaluate the effect of lemon essential oil on the microbial change of chicken meat during storage. In the first part of the study, the antimicrobial effect of lemon essential oil against 5 different foodborne pathogenic microorganisms was examined. E. coli ATCC 25922, which lemon essential oil is less effective against, was selected as the microorganism to be contaminated in chicken breast and thigh meat. In the second part of the study, the inhibitory activity of 150, 200, 250, 500, 1000 and 2500 μL amounts of lemon essential oil on 240 μL E. coli ATCC 25922 during storage was evaluated. The amount of lemon essential oil that showed the highest inhibitory activity on E. coli ATCC 25922 was determined as 1000 and 2500 μL. In the third part of the study, the effect of 150 and 2500 μL lemon essential oil on microbial change in terms of total bacteria on chicken breast and thigh meat during storage was investigated. It was determined that both amounts of lemon essential oil slowed down the growth of microorganisms and this effect was greater for 2500 μL due to the higher amount. In the fourth part of the study, a mixture of 240 μL E. coli ATCC 25922 and different amounts (150, 200, 250, 500, 1000 and 2500 μL) of lemon essential oil was applied to chicken breast and thigh meat cleaned from microbial load and the inhibitory effect of lemon essential oil was investigated during the storage period. At the end of the study, while all amounts of lemon essential oil were found to have inhibitory effects on E. coli ATCC 25922, it was determined that the highest inhibitory effect was found in 1000 and 2500 μL lemon essential oil amounts. Keywords: Lemon essential oil, antimicrobial agent, chicken breast meat, chicken thigh meat, E. coli ATCC 25922