The pomegranate peel, which is thick and difficult to peel, has the effects of antidiarrheal, hemostasis, and deworming as a traditional Chinese medicine. However, after a recent study by scientists from India, it was found that pomegranate peel extract has a miraculous effect on the preservation of meat. Keep the freshness of the meat for a week without freezing it without affecting the taste. You must know that the meat can only be kept fresh for up to two days in a refrigerated environment. After freezing, the taste and nutritional value of the meat will be greatly reduced. .

Pomegranate peel extract: a natural preservative for meat

The pomegranate peel contains a variety of alkaloids, and the antibacterial test has confirmed that the alcohol extract of pomegranate and the peel water decoction have broad-spectrum antibacterial effects, and have obvious inhibitory effects on a variety of bacteria and fungi.

In a normal temperature environment, fresh meat will breed various bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, etc., eating this meat will cause serious diseases, such as abdominal cramps, headache, fever, Diarrhea, which can even lead to death if left untreated. Therefore, the food industry will add preservatives to inhibit the growth of microorganisms to extend the shelf life of food.

Lamb is more difficult to preserve than pork and beef. It can only be kept fresh for six hours if it is not refrigerated after being cut, and there is currently no technology that can make the shelf life of fresh lamb more than 20 hours without chemical preservatives. But by injecting special substances extracted from pomegranate peels into mutton, it can effectively prevent the meat from rotting and breeding bacteria.

Scientists say that while the research on this pomegranate peel extract has focused on lamb, its effects could work on chicken and pork as well.

At present, most of the preservatives added in food are synthetic chemical preparations, such as benzoic acid, sodium benzoate, sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, calcium propionate, etc. Although they will not cause harm to the human body as long as they are added in an appropriate amount, it is always There is no health benefit.

Under the guidance of the concept of healthy diet, natural preservatives have begun to gradually replace artificial preservatives, such as nisin and red yeast rice derived from microorganisms; lysozyme, chitosan, protamine, and propolis derived from animals; plant Source of tea polyphenols, garlic extract. Many plant ingredients have bactericidal and insecticidal properties, and have certain health care functions for the human body, so plant extracts will play an increasingly important role in the field of food preservatives in the future. The following plant extracts are all natural preservatives that are currently used more in the food field.

Green Tea Extract: A Natural Preservative for Pastries

Tea polyphenol is an active ingredient extracted from green tea leaves. In addition to the health care effects of anti-oxidation, scavenging free radicals, anti-cancer and lowering blood lipids, it is also a sterilizing and detoxifying preservative. Can kill botulinum toxin and spores, inhibit the activity of bacterial exotoxin. It has obvious inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus.

Tea polyphenols have been widely used in the food industry as antioxidants and preservatives. my country's food additives use standards stipulate that tea polyphenols can be used in foods such as oils, moon cakes, and hams. The addition of tea polyphenols to meat products can make the protein and tea polyphenols on the surface of meat products form a layer of airtight hard film, which can inhibit the oxidative rancidity and bacterial growth on the surface of meat products and prevent spoilage. In addition, tea polyphenols have the function of inhibiting oil oxidation and rancidity, and have applications in the fields of edible animal and vegetable oils, fried foods, and aquatic product preservation.

Cakes are the most suitable food for adding tea polyphenols, which can not only solve the preservation of baked goods such as moon cakes and cakes, but also the taste of green tea and matcha prepared with tea polyphenols is a popular flavor that increases the flavor and taste of food.

Extracto de ajo: El más fuerte Plant Preservative

The extract of garlic is allicin. Allicin can activate cells, promote energy production, increase antibacterial and antiviral abilities, and has a strong killing effect on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Japanese scholars have found through research that garlic has strong inhibitory and killing effects on dozens of bacteria and fungi that cause food spoilage, and its effect is equivalent to or even stronger than chemical preservatives benzoic acid and sorbic acid. One of the strongest antibacterial effects in plants.

Allicin has a special effect on the preservation of fruits and vegetables. Garlic extract can significantly improve the flavor and color of fruit, improve fruit quality, reduce redness index and rot rate, inhibit the loss of vitamin C content, and at the same time retain nutrients to a greater extent.

Cinnamon Extract: Fruit Natural Preservative

Cinnamon extract Cinnamaldehyde has strong bactericidal, antiseptic and anti-tumor effects. Foreign researchers have studied the antifungal effect of cinnamaldehyde on 22 opportunistic pathogenic fungi. The results showed that cinnamaldehyde had antibacterial effect on all tested bacteria.

Cinnamaldehyde can be used in the preservation and preservation of grains, vegetables and fruits; in fruit products, it can improve the taste and flavor, and can also replace sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate for the preservation of tea beverages, and can also be used in wine to make Its color is bright.

my country is the world's largest fruit producing country. Due to the perishability of fruits and the great influence of seasonal and regional factors, the preservation of fruits is extremely important. At present, there are more than 20 kinds of preservatives used in fruit storage and transportation in my country, such as carbendazim, thiabendazole, thiophanate-methyl, and sulfur dioxide. These preservatives have certain toxicity and also affect the taste of fruits.

Cinnamaldehyde has the advantages of low toxicity, safety, low cost and aromatic odor. As a safe natural source material, the "National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives" does not stipulate the dosage of cinnamaldehyde as a preservative. Given its many advantages, cinnamaldehyde is expected to become the most common preservative for fruits.