EFFECT OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF MENTHA SPICATA L. FROM BENIN ON THE QUALITY OF MANGO PUREE IN STORAGE MODEL FOOD SYSTEMS AT 4° AND 25°C

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate the effect of essential oil from fresh leaves of Mentha spicata L. on the quality of mango puree in storage model food systems at 4°C and 25°C. The results of physico-chemical characterization of mango puree underlined its high nutritional potential, with carbohydrates, carotenoids and vitamin C contents of 9.5±0.4%, 20.05±0.03 mg/100g and 21.03±0.05 mg/100g respectively. The microbiological analyses using taxonomic schemes primarily based on morphological characters of mycelium and conidia revealed that Aspergillus parasiticus, Fusarium versicolor and Mucor spp. were the most common fungi identified in mango puree in the southern Benin. Antifungal assay, performed by the agar diffusion assay, indicated that essential oil exhibited high antifungal activity against the growth of fungi. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the essential oil was found to be 2.0 μL.mL-1for Aspergillus parasiticus and Fusarium versicolor; and 1.0 μL.mL-1 for Mucor spp. The chemical analysis of the oil made by GC/MS led to the identification of 35 components, characterized by carvone (67.5%), and limonene (12.0%) as major components. The results obtained during the evaluation of the microbiological, physico-chemical and sensorial characteristics of the mango puree stored by adding essential oil, revealed the high potential of the essential oil of Mentha spicata L. in food quality preservation. This essential oil offers a novel approach to the management of fruit derivate products during storage.