Effect of the chives, pomegranate, and lime juices on the meat quality and microbial reduction of chicken breast inoculated with Salmonella Enteritidis

The antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of lyophilized juice from chives (Allium tuberosum R., CVJ), pomegranate (Punica granatum, PGJ), and lime (Citrus aurantifolia, LMJ) were evaluated in this study. These lyophilized juices were used as natural preservatives for chicken breast artificially inoculated with Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis over 9 days at 4 °C. LMJ demonstrated the least minimum inhibitory concentration at 50 mg/mL, while the minimum bactericidal concentration for CVJ and LMJ was 100 mg/mL, and for PGJ, it was 200 mg/mL. In the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay, PGJ exhibited the strongest antioxidant capacity with the lowest IC₅₀ value (2.17 mg/mL). According to the ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay, LMJ exhibited the greatest antioxidant capacity, with an EC₅₀ value of 0.68 mg/mL. Meat inoculated with S. Enteritidis and then treated with 1 CVJ (SCVJ), 1 PGJ (SPGJ), or 1 LMJ (SLMJ) had lower pH values than the control from the fifth day of storage onwards (p < 0.05). On day 5, SCVJ had significantly lower S. Enteritidis counts (5.16 Log CFU/g) compared to the control (5.46 Log CFU/g). SCVJ had significantly lower volatile basic nitrogen levels than the other treatments by day 7, followed by SPGJ and SLMJ with values of 25.09, 26.84, and 28.28 mg/100 g, respectively. SLMJ effectively maintained lower 2-Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values. Among the treatments, SLMJ yielded the most favorable results, preserving meat quality without significant color changes. © The Author(s) 2026.