Food preservatives represent a $3 billion dollar industry that continues to grow every year that includes synthetic as well as natural food preservatives.
There have been concerns raised that some synthetic food preservatives may be associated with hyperactivity in children, reduced heart health, and reduced intestinal health.
As a result there is a significant push for finding ‘natural’ food preservatives with popular choices being rosemary and oregano extracts.
In 2008 the European Union approved rosemary extracts as a food preservative after a series of rigorous testing.
One benefit of food preservatives like rosemary or oregano is they can prevent cholesterol from breaking down.
This is important because when cholesterol breaks down or degrades the chemicals produced can be harmful to our health.
A recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry studied rosemary and oregano extracts as a food preservative.
Here are the study details
- Fish patties (Norwegian Atlantic Salmon fillets) were cut into small pieces.
- Rosemary, oregano, or a blend of herbs was mixed with fish patties at a concentration of 1 or 3 grams to 1 kilogram of fish.
Here are the results:
- All the tested plant extracts reduced the breakdown of cholesterol in stored foods up to 14 days and in foods that were cooked.
Take away message: In this study rosemary extract, oregano extract, or a blend of herbs was able to reduce the cholesterol breakdown. This is important because when cholesterol breaks down it can form harmful chemicals. As a side note, we often hear that cholesterol is ‘bad’, however, we need to keep in mind that cholesterol is essential for every cell in the human body. Also, cholesterol is used in hormone production in the body, vitamin D, nerve function, and many more things. When it comes to cholesterol, not too much and not too little should be our strategy. The results of this study suggest that natural plant extracts may be an alternative to synthetic food preservatives in the near future.
His research on plant medicine has led to more than 45 publications and abstracts.This research has been presented at international meetings in the USA, France, Turkey, Peru, Israel, Austria, and Italy.
Categories: Cholesterol, Food, Plant Extracts