Volume 2, Issue 2, January 2015, Pages 93–97
Open Access
Scientific Paper
The influence of addition of Borago officinalis with antibacterial activity on the sensory quality of fresh pasta
- Open Access funded by AZTI-Tecnalia
- Under a Creative Commons license
Abstract
Borage (Borago officinalis L.) is a herbaceous plant of the Boraginaceae
family cultivated throughout the world for several purposes, including
food preparations, mainly beverages and salads. Some Italian recipes use
borage as a food ingredient, in particular as condiment for pasta. The
aqueous extract (AE) from borage leaves can act as biopreservative in
foods due to its inhibition towards the main foodborne pathogen
bacteria. Fresh pasta, due to the high content of water, is a food
product with a limited shelf life. In order to test the suitability of
borage to produce fresh pasta with a prolonged shelf life, borage AE was
used in dried form as a raw material for the production of tagliatelle
pasta. Pasta produced with fresh borage was used as green tagliatelle
control, while pasta produced without borage was used as white
tagliatelle control. The colour of the three tagliatelle pasta types was
different. A sensory panel was used to test the appreciation of these
products prepared following three recipes with Sicilian ingredients.
Both pastas produced with borage were preferred to control pasta with
any preparation based on cheese, meat or fish as principal flavour
ingredient. The present study demonstrated the suitability of borage AE
as natural preservative for fresh pasta production.
Keywords
- Aqueous extracts;
- Antibacterial activity;
- Borage;
- Fresh pasta;
- Sensory evaluation
Introduction
In
the last few years, we are experiencing the ‘green consumerism’
life-style and people are demanding more foods that are organic and with
reduced levels of chemical preservatives for conservation (Burt, 2004).
On the other hand, the request for foods with high convenience of use,
that are ‘ready to eat’, is increasing. This products are characterised
by a short shelf life, that needs to be enhanced to follow the current
trend of consumers׳ habit to purchase food items more often weekly
rather than daily. For this reason, prepared meals, foods and single
ingredients sold in retail markets must have a high microbial stability
to prevent the occurrence of foodborne illness. Hygienic food handling
aims to control the presence of pathogens in foods by controlling the
contamination, growth, and survival of microbial pathogens (Adams and Motarjemi, 1999).
Italy is the world׳s largest country consumer of pasta, with an average consumption per capita of about 26 kg per year (UN.A.F.P.A., 2012).
Pasta is typically commercially available in dried form, but several
fresh pasta typologies are commonly produced in Italy and used for
traditional local culinary uses. Although in Italy there are small
specialized shops selling fresh pasta produced at artisanal level, this
product is mostly available in a pre-packed form and distributed by the
large retail chains. Fresh pasta contains a moisture content above 24%
and requires a refrigerated storage below 4 °C (Costa et al., 2010). In Italy, the sell-by date for this product must be no later than five days from the date of manufacture (Presidential Decree no. 187, 2001).
Unlike dried pasta that is made with durum (Triticum durum) wheat flour, fresh pasta is commonly obtained by processing soft (Triticum aestivum)
wheat flour. Egg pasta is the most common fresh pasta produced and
consumed in Italy, but some regional recipes include fresh pasta made
with mixtures of wheat flour and other ingredients, such as pumpkin
flesh, spinach, sepia, etc., mainly used as colouring and flavouring
agents. The addition of ingredients with antimicrobial activities could
be of paramount importance to prolong the shelf life of fresh pasta
without compromising its ‘natural’ image. Natural alternatives to
chemical preservatives generally include microbial inhibitors (e.g.
bacteriocins and antifungal compounds) and vegetable by-products (e.g.
essential oils and water extracts) ( Settanni and Moschetti, 2014).
Hence, the preparation of fresh pasta with vegetables containing
specific compounds that inhibit the growth of undesired
(pathogenic/spoilage) microbial agents could represent an interesting
strategy to prolong the shelf-life of foods.
In a recent paper of our research group, the antibacterial activities of Brassica juncea and Borago officinalis aqueous extracts (AEs) were investigated ( Miceli et al., 2014). Interestingly, both AEs were able to inhibit in vitro several strains of Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter spp. and Salmonella enterica, that are commonly associated with foodborne diseases. However, the in situ applications of both AEs in food model systems indicated that, at the concentrations active against the test bacteria, B. officinalis is sensorially preferred over B. juncea. Those data suggested a possible application of B. officinalis AE as food biopreservative.
Borage (B. officinalis L.) is a hairy annual herbaceous plant of the Boraginaceae
family native to Europe and North Africa widely spread in many
Mediterranean countries. This plant was cultivated throughout the world
traditionally for culinary and folk medicinal uses ( Hassan Gilani et al., 2007). Borage has been defined as a “power food” of the future because of its content on unsaturated fatty acids ( Río-Celestino et al., 2008).
Leaves, stems and flower are eaten raw or cooked according to regional
recipes and traditional local culinary uses. The basal leaves and the
aerial parts are eaten fried, boiled, stewed or used to prepare green
pasta or as stuffing for pies, ravioli and tortelli ( Lentini and Venza, 2007).
Borage flowers are one of the few truly blue-coloured edible
substances. They are added to salads to which add a light cucumber
flavour and often used to decorate beverages and desserts.
In order to extend the exploitation of B. officinalis
as biopreservative agent, the main aim of this work was to evaluate the
suitability of borage AE, in dried form, as raw materials to produce
fresh pasta. To this purpose, fresh pasta was also produced with fresh
borage. Both pasta productions were seasoned in different ways,
following three new recipes with Sicilian ingredients, and subjected to
the sensory analysis. The pasta samples were also analysed by
colorimeter to investigate the difference in terms of colour.
