LAUSR

Abstract The effect of a beef meat coating prepared using cuttlefish skin gelatin with henna aqueous extract (HAE) as natural preservative was studied during chilled storage of meat at 1, 3, 6 and 8 days. The combined coating increased the shelf-life of meat by decreasing the total and psychrophilic vial bacteria counts at the end of storage. In addition, the lipid oxidation of meat decreased during the period of storage in gelatin-HAE coated samples measured using the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances test. Furthermore, coating significantly preserved color properties in comparison with uncoated samples. According to free amino acid contents, coating decreased the rate of proteolysis process, whereas it was faster in uncoated samples. Thus, the gelatin coatings offer an excellent protection to avoid meat deterioration, which was significantly improved by the addition of HAE to the gelatin gel.