EVALUACIÓN DEL ACEITE ESENCIAL DE ALBAHACA ( Ocimum basilicum ) COMO INHIBIDOR DEL CRECIMIENTO MICROBIANO EN QUESO FRESCO.

Abstract

The proposed research aimed to evaluate the effect of basil essential oil (Ocimun basilicum) as an inhibitor of microbial growth in fresh cheese. We worked with artisanal cheese from the Canuto parish. A completely randomized experimental design with a unifactorial arrangement was used, the factor under study corresponded to the concentrations of basil essential oil at 0.1% (T1); 0.2% (T2) and 0.3% (T3), plus one control and three replicates per treatment, respectively. The inhibition of the growth of pathogens such as; aerobic mesophilic; Enterobacteriaceae; E coli, Salmonella, fungi and yeasts. With the participation of 30 untrained tasters, the degree of sensory acceptance of the best microbial inhibition treatment was determined. According to the results of ANOVA and according to the Tukey and Kruskal Wallis tests, it was possible to determine that, with p<0.05% and at different times of evaluation of microbial inhibition, all the microbiological variables presented a significant difference, during that time. evaluation, it was evidenced that the treatment with 0.3% basil essential oil showed the best results compared to the control treatment (100% fresh cheese). The T3 treatment showed a sensory acceptance of I like it slightly in the attributes, smell, color and texture, while in taste a degree of acceptability of neither I like nor I dislike was identified. It is concluded that the higherthe concentration of basil essential oil, the better microbial inhibition is presented in the fresh cheese against the pathogens evaluated, however, that concentration affects the perception of the consumer at the level of flavor, therefore, they should not be added. high concentrations of basil essential oil in the dairy product. Keywords: essential oil, basil, microbial growth, fresh cheese, sensory