Evaluation antioxidant effects of Pullulan edible coating with watercress extract (Nasturtiumn officinale) on the chemical corruption of fresh beluga sturgeon fillet during storage in a refrigerator

In the present study, the effect of Pullulan coating with watercress extract on the quality and shelf life of fresh beluga sturgeon fillet stored in a refrigerator over a period of 16 days was investigated. First, the watercress extract was extracted by ultrasound and soxhlet (solvent) method and the amount of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of the extract (DPPH free radical activity test) were determined. The values of phenolic compounds for soxhlet extract were equal to 586.53 mg gallic acid per gram of dry weight and for ultrasonic extract was 879.57 mg/g dry weight and the antioxidant properties of watercress extracted by ultrasound were significantly higher than soxhlet method (p<0.05), so ultrasound extracts were added to the pullulan coating. Then, 4 treatments were included: control, pullulan coating, pullulan coating + watercress extract 500 ppm, pullulan coating + watercress extract 1000 ppm were analyzed by biochemical parameters such as peroxide value (PV), thiobarbithic acid (TBA), free fatty acid (FFA), total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) and pH). The results showed, natural preservation delayed chemical spoilage in compared with control treatment (p<0.05). According to the results pullulan coating + watercress extract 1000 ppm significantly retarded lipid oxidation by decreasing peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid production in the samples and it had the lowest total volatile basic nitrogen and pH (p<0.05). The control treatment had only the allowed chemical range for up to 6 days, but the treatment containing pullulan coating + 1000 ppm extract had the allowed values until the end of the storage period. The final conclusion showed that the coating of pullulan with watercress extract could act as a natural antioxidant, delaying chemical degradation and prolonging the shelf-life of fish fillets.