EVALUATION OF PHYSICOCHEMICAL, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF CHICKEN SAUSAGE INCORPORATED WITH DIFFERENT VEGETABLES

The physicochemical, antioxidant, antimicrobial and nutritional features of Capsicum, carrot, spinach, purple cabbage and oyster mushroom incorporated in chicken sausages were investigated in this study. The first phase was conducted with various percentages (30%, 40% and 50%) of vegetables in the sausage formulations. Based on first phase results, sausages formulated with 40% vegetables were selected as the best formulation. The second phase involved the selection of the best percentage formulation of sausages, which was further analyzed for the microstructure, chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The analysis of microstructure showed that sausage with vegetables had a less dense microstructure mainly due to the consequent increase in moisture content, decrease in fat content and decrease in protein density. The highest DPPH value and total phenolic content were demonstrated by the sausages incorporated with purple cabbage while incorporation of spinach gave the highest total flavonoid content. During the end of storage study, the peroxide value in sausages incorporated with purple cabbage significantly (P<0.05) delayed lipid oxidation compared to the control from 1.62meq/kg to 0.58meq/kg. The microbial activity was reduced with the incorporation of vegetables which subsequently would help to extend the shelf-life of the samples. The results suggest that vegetables used are potentially useful in improving the nutritional quality in chicken-based sausage-like product.