Meat and meat products are excellent sources of nutrients for humans; however, they also provide a favorable environment for microbial growth. To prevent the microbiological contamination of livestock foods, synthetic preservatives, including nitrites, nitrates, and sorbates, have been widely used in the food industry due to their low cost and strong antibacterial activity. Use of synthetic chemical preservatives is recently being considered by customers due to concerns related to negative health issues. Therefore, the demand for natural substances as food preservatives has increased with the use of plant-derived and animal-derived products, and microbial metabolites. These natural preservatives inhibit the growth of spoilage microorganisms or food-borne pathogens by increasing the permeability of microbial cell membranes, interruption of protein synthesis, and cell metabolism. Natural preservatives can extend the shelf-life and inhibit the growth of microorganisms. However, they can also influence food sensory properties, including the flavor, taste, color, texture, and acceptability of food. To increase the applicability of natural preservatives, a number of strategies, including combinations of different preservatives or food preservation methods, such as active packaging systems and encapsulation, have been explored. This review summarizes the current applications of natural preservatives for meat and meat products.

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BACKGROUND The chestnut inner shell (CIS) has long been used as a medicinal herb for strengthening the antioxidant in the cosmetic industry. However, little is known about the antioxidant and anticancer effects of the CIS. RESULTS The antioxidant and anticancer effects of CIS extracts (CISEs) were investigated by the use of various methods and cancer cell lines, respectively. The total polyphenol content of CISEs using ethanol, methanol, butanol, ethyl acetate and water were 53.30, 43.98, 32.16, 26.79 and 11.53 mg gallic acid equivalents g−1, respectively. The CISEs using ethanol and methanol exhibited high antioxidant activities in the 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, β‐carotene bleaching and ferric reducing ability of plasma assays; the effects were equivalent to those of butylated hydroxytoluene. All CISEs at 2.5 mg mL−1 were shown to have a cytotoxic effect over 50%, and the CISE using ethyl acetate at 0.6 mg mL−1 was proved to have 90% cytotoxic effect against the tested cancer cells. CONCLUSION The ethanol and methanol CISEs had potent antioxidant effects, and the ethyl acetate CISE had the highest cytotoxicity. These results suggest that CISEs could be used as functional ingredients for antioxidant and anticancer effects in foods as extraction solvents. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry

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