Effects of Cumin (Cuminum Cyminum L.) Seed and Wild Mint (Mentha Longifolia L.) Leaf Extracts on the Shelf Life and Quality of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Fillets Stored at 4C ± 1

Abstract The effects of Cumin ( C uminum cyminum L.) seed and Wild mint ( M entha longifolia L.) leaf extracts on microbiological, chemical and sensory changes of rainbow trout ( O ncorhynchus mykiss ) fillets stored at 4C ± 1 were investigated. The results showed that lipid oxidation and spoilage of the samples were significantly delayed in samples treated with a plant extract in comparison with the controls ( P < 0.05). The psychrophilic bacterial counts and total viable count values were above the acceptability limit (7 log 10 colony‐forming unit/g) by the 6, 12, 15, 12 and 18th day of storage for the control: Cumin (3.0 %), Cumin (6.0 %), Wild mint (3.0 %) and Wild mint (6.0 %) treatments, respectively. The application of 6.0 % Wild mint leaf extract gave the best antioxidative and antimicrobial activities, as well as sensory scores, up to 18 days of storage. Sensory analysis results showed the treatment with a Wild mint extract had high quality and improved the beneficial effects on sensory properties. This research demonstrated that the Cumin and Wild mint extracts had significant effects on shelf‐life extension of fresh rainbow trout up to 12–18 days at refrigerated storage conditions and could be applied as natural preservatives for extending shelf life of fish products. Practical Applications Consumer's awareness of well‐being and the demand for healthy and natural food products have caused much attention on using natural extract as preservative in food products. In this work, we investigated the effects of two natural extracts from Cumin Seed and Wild mint leaf on the quality of fish product, including chemical, microbiological and sensory qualities during refrigerated storage. To our knowledge, the application of Cumin Seed and Wild mint leaf extracts to extend the shelf life of fish product has not been studied previously.