Antimicrobial effect of Eleutherine americana bulb extract on the growth of Campylobacter jejuni in broiler meat

Eleutherine americana bulb known mainly as a flavouring agent has also beneficial role in food safety and preservation. The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Eleutherine americana bulb extract in controlling contamination of a major foodborne pathogen, Campylobacter jejuni in chicken meat. The treatment was divided into 3 sets (i) dipping chicken meat in the extract (ii) mixing the extract with chicken meat, and (iii) combination of the extract treatment with short-term freezing at − 20 °C. With dipping method, the addition of 8 mg mL−1 of the extract lowered C. jejuni ATCC 33560 counts in chicken meat to approximately 2 log on day 6. One log-fold decrease in the bacterial counts in chicken meat mixed with E. americana extract at 4 mg mL−1 was observed at day 7. Furthermore, the extract at 8 mg mL−1 caused reduction in the bacterial counts up to 2 log from day 4 till day 7 (P < 0.05). Combined treatment with the extract at 4 and 8 mg mL−1 and subsequent short-term freezing of chicken meat reduced survival of C. jejuni about 2 log from day 5 and day 3, respectively (P < 0.05). Sensory scores analysis demonstrated that addition of the extract did not adversely affect the properties of cooked chicken meat until day 5 (P < 0.05). The results suggest that E. americana extract could be a promising novel agent to control Campylobacter contamination in chicken meat.