The Effect of thyme, rosemary, and lemongrass oils on extension of the shelf life and qualitative characteristics of Iraqi soft cheese | Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Home Food Science Publisher Functional Food Center Current Archives About About the Journal Aims and Scope Contact Editing Services Editorial Team Express Peer Review Graphical Abstract Journal Insights Privacy Statement Submissions Announcements Search Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 14 No. 1 (2024): January 2024 / Research Articles The Effect of thyme, rosemary, and lemongrass oils on extension of the shelf life and qualitative characteristics of Iraqi soft cheese Authors Firas Najm Ismael [email protected] Sara Thamer Hadi DOI: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i1.1262 Abstract Background: In the case of Iraqi soft cheeses, researchers have noted that the moisture content of these cheeses decreases over time in storage and reaches its maximum depletion in the final storage period. This information was found to be true for all samples that were tested. As storage times increased, this decline was followed by a rise in the ratio of fat and protein, which reached the maximum at 21 days for all samples under investigation. Additionally, research was done on the impact of thyme, rosemary, and lemongrass oil additions on the microbiological and sensory properties of the soft cheese generated during storage.      Objective: This study set out to ascertain the impact of adding oils such as thyme, rosemary, and lemongrass on the chemical, microbial, and sensory properties of Iraqi soft white cheese made from cow's milk and stored for 21 days at 1 ± 5°C. Materials and Methods: The wild thyme and rosemary were obtained from local markets in Baghdad, while the lemongrass was obtained from one of the nurseries in Abu Ghraib / Baghdad in December 2022. The essential oils were extracted by water distillation according to the method described.  Results: As storage went on, the number of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria increased; on day 21, they reached 1.75, 3.54, 5.41, 6.75, 1.20, 2.14, 3.21, and 4.20 CFU / g of cheese, respectively. This was the largest rise in the count. By contrast, these values dropped when thyme oil was added, coming down to 1.54, 1.48, 2.10, and 2.88 CFU/g of cheese, respectively. In the sample to which rosemary oil was added, the quantity of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria fell as well, reaching 1.54, 1.76, 2.88, and 3.31 CFU /g cheese, respectively, despite the fact that they were not present at all. Additionally, there was no Staphylococcus aureus germs present, in contrast to the cheese sample that had lemongrass oil added, which had both Staphylococcus aureus and coliform bacteria entirely missing. The findings also demonstrated that, when compared to the cheese samples treated with wild thyme oil, rosemary oil, and the control sample, the cheese sample treated with lemongrass oil exhibited superior sensory qualities, such as flavor, color, texture, and bitterness over various storage times. Keywords: Soft Cheese, Thyme Oil, Rosemary Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Chemical composition, Storage period Downloads [Abstract] [Full Article] Published 2024-01-04 Issue Vol. 14 No. 1 (2024): January 2024 Section Research Articles License Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives   Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com