Effect of adding different concentrations of tarragon on chemical, cooking, and microbial properties of refrigerated beef patties

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq

2 Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq.

10.22103/jab.2026.27151.1894

Abstract

Objective
Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.) is a perennial aromatic herb widely used both fresh (leaves) and dried as a culinary and medicinal herb. Its essential oil contains bioactive compounds with estragole identified as the major component in the oil profile. It also contains flavonoids, phenolic compound and carotenoids. Tarragon exhibits considerable medicinal potential, with essential oils and extracts showing strong antibacterial effects and a wide range of bioactivities. The current study aimed to know the effect of adding different concentrations of tarragon powder on some microbial and chemical properties of minced meat patties stored at 4°C. The study also evaluated the effect of tarragon powder on some physical properties, including cooking loss and cooking yield of beef patties.
Materials and methods
During this study, different percentages of tarragon powder (1, 2, and 3%,) were added to the minced beef patties and stored at a temperature of 4°C. Control treatment was minced beef patties without any addition. Microbiological tests were conducted for ground meat patties after passing 0, 3, 6 and 9 days from cold storage at 4° C. Statistical analysis was performed using GenStat version 12.
Results
The results of the study indicated that tarragon powder significantly reduces microbial growth and lipid oxidation in refrigerated beef patties during storage. After 9 days of storage, total bacterial counts decreased from 296 × 10⁶ CFU/g in the control to 75 × 10⁶ CFU/g in patties containing 3% tarragon powder. Similarly, TBA values decreased from 2.77 mg malondialdehyde/kg in the control treatment to 1.55 mg malondialdehyde/kg in the 3% tarragon treatment. Moreover, the results of the study indicated a significant increase in TBA values during storage, indicating increased lipid oxidation. In addition, increasing tarragon concentration significantly reduced cooking loss from 38.0% in the control to 17.93% in the 3% tarragon treatment, while cooking yield increased from 61.88% to 82.07%.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that tarragon powder can be used as a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent to improve the quality and extend the shelf life of beef patties during refrigerated storage.

Keywords

References

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Agricultural Biotechnology Journal
Volume 18, Issue 3
June 2026
Pages 599-614

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