Use of Laurus nobilis (Noble Bay) essential oil as a preservative for a meat product, Mortadella

Authors

  • Asma Boukhennoufa Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University of Relizane
  • Ibtissem Fergane Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University of Relizane
  • Nour El Houda Fergane Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University of Relizane
  • Boumediene Meddah Laboratory of Bioconversion, Microbiological Engineering and Health Safety, Faculty of Life and Nature Sciences Mustapha Istanbul University. Mascara
  • Aicha Meddah Tir Touil Laboratory of Bioconversion, Microbiological Engineering and Health Safety, Faculty of Life and Nature Sciences Mustapha Istanbul University. Mascara
  • Fayssal Abdelaaziz Bouali Youcef Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University, Mostaganem

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.2281-4485/22528

Keywords:

Preservative, extraction, essential oils, Laurus nobilis, antimicrobial activity

Abstract

Our objective is to find a natural preservative for a food product as an alternative to prohibited chemical substances. The essential oils from the leaves of Laurus nobilis harvested in the Relizane region were characterized by physicochemical methods followed by gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer detector. The effectiveness of the extracted oils was tested against microbial strains by the agar diffusion method. Indeed, two doses were  incorporated into the mortadella (5μL and 10μL). The extraction yield was equal to 0.95 ± 0.45%, with values of refractive index (1.3138 ± 0.25), acid index (0.225 ± 0.001), saponification index (31.5 ± 0.005 (mg KoH/g), ester index (31.25 ± 0.05) and relative density (0.825 ± 0.001). Chromatographic analyses showed the predominance of eucalyptol (29.79%). The antimicrobial activity test of the essential oil showed a potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus (80 mm) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (30 mm). At T20, no growth of total mesophilic aerobic flora and pathogenic germs was observed in samples containig Essential oils.

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Published

2025-12-10

How to Cite

Boukhennoufa , A., Fergane , I., Fergane , N. E. H., Meddah , B., Touil, A. M. T., & Youcef , F. A. B. (2026). Use of Laurus nobilis (Noble Bay) essential oil as a preservative for a meat product, Mortadella. EQA - International Journal of Environmental Quality, 71, 114–119. https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.2281-4485/22528

Issue

Vol. 71 (2026)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Asma Boukhennoufa , Ibtissem Fergane , Nour El Houda Fergane , Boumediene Meddah , Aicha Meddah Tir Touil, Fayssal Abdelaaziz Bouali Youcef

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