Antioxidant and antibacterial properties of coating with chitosan-citrus essential oil and effect on the quality of Pacific mackerel during chilled storage.

The goal of the study was to investigate whether chitosan-citrus essential oil composite works as an efficient preservative in Pacific mackerel (Pneumatophorus japonicus) during chilling storage. FT-IR analysis showed that chitosan-citrus essential oil coating was successfully prepared. Our results demonstrated that chitosan-citrus essential oil coating possessed significantly higher capability of scavenging reactive oxygen species ( O 2 - and OH-) than chitosan. Furthermore, Pacific mackerel coated with chitosan-citrus essential oil composite could significantly reduce parameters of corruption including physicochemical (drop loss, biogenic amine, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances) and microbiological parameters (total viable count), as compared with untreated and chitosan groups after 12 days of storage at -3°C. These results indicated that CS-CEOs could work as efficient preservative for Pacific mackerel storage through ameliorating redox state and inhibiting microbial growth and suggested that chitosan-citrus essential oil composite has great potential in preservation of aquatic products during superchilled storage.