Preservation of previously frozen black wildebeest meat (Connochaetes gnou) using oregano (Oreganum vulgare) essential oil.

The effect of oregano essential oil (1% v/v) on the shelf-life of black wildebeest Biceps femoris (BF) muscles stored aerobically at 2.6 ± 0.6 °C was investigated by evaluating changes in pH, lipid oxidation, microbial counts and colour over 9 days of storage. Treatment group had lower pH values than control group, for most of storage. Lipid oxidation was stabilized at <9 mgMDA/kg throughout storage for the treatment, whilst instability was seen for the control. The treatment group had significantly lower total viable counts (TVC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and coliform counts throughout storage. TVC and LAB reached spoilage limit of 7 log cfu/g ≥ 3 days later compared to the control group. Furthermore, bacterial growth rates for TVC and LAB were > 1.4-fold slower in the treatment group. No overall improvements were seen in colour parameters, however b* values significantly decreased in the treatment group, whilst b* values from the control group did not experience any changes during storage.