Consumer Preference for the Chevon Sausage in Blind and Nonblind Sensory Evaluations: A Comparative Study.

There are strong perceptions regarding chevon consumption, with its strong aroma and smell and its stringiness and gaminess being chief among them. Processing chevon into by-products has resolved this negative perception associated with fresh chevon. A blind and nonblind comparative sensory evaluation was performed to investigate participant preference for the chevon sausage versus pork and beef sausages. The sausages were made from minced shoulder meat. After grilling the sausages, they were cut into 0.5 cm thick slices. There were 52 and 20 participants in the blind and nonblind sensory evaluations, respectively. Using a 9-point hedonic scale, the participants evaluated each sausage for its juiciness, flavor, tenderness, and overall satisfaction. During the blind sensory evaluation, the participants were also asked to identify one of the most distinct sausages since the identity of the sausages was not known. The results showed no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the preferences for any of the sausages during the blind sensory evaluation. The choice for the most distinct sausage showed that pork (57.69%), beef (32.69%), and chevon (9.62%) sausages were all recognized. In the nonblind sensory, knowledge of the identity of the sausage significantly (P < 0.05) influenced South African participants' liking of the chevon sausage, with pork and chevon being the most and least liked sausages, respectively.

Effect of Teucrium trifidum powder on some meat quality attributes of chevon under refrigerated storage.

We investigated the effect of T. trifidum on the shelf-life and quality of chevon kept for eight days at 4 ± 1 °C in polyethylene pouches. Different powder levels of T. trifidum (0.5 %, 1.0 %, and 2.0 % w/w) and 0.02 % w/w butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) were used to treat the chevon samples. The T. trifidum and BHT treated chevon was compared to untreated chevon (control). Colour, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts, oxidative stability, pH and total viable counts (TVC) were all measured while the samples were in storage. Treatment demonstrated a significant (P < 0.05) influence on pH with chevon preserved with T. trifidum powder (2 %), having a lower pH than the chevon preserved with BHT and the control. The colour of chevon (lightness, redness and yellowness) was shown to differ (P < 0.05) across treatments. The redness (a∗) and yellowness (b∗) reduced as the refrigeration period lengthened (P < 0.05). In contrast, the lightness (L∗) of chevon intensified as the storage period lengthened (P < 0.05). The TBARS considerably reduced (P < 0.05) in samples subjected to T. trifidum powder and BHT, with respect to the untreated sample. There was an increase in the FRAP activity as the amount of T. trifidum powder (P < 0.05) was increased. The FRAP values were shown to be inversely related to the TBARS values, implying that the addition of T. trifidum powder could slow lipid oxidation. In comparison with the control, T. trifidum powder inhibited bacterial growth during storage as measured by a significant reduction in TVC and LAB counts (P < 0.05). It is concluded that, T. trifidum powder has potent antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in refrigerated ground chevon thus can be potentially used to preserve the quality of refrigerator stored ground chevon.

Phytochemical screening and in vitro evaluation of antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Teucrium trifidum crude extracts.

The objective of the investigation was to identify biologically active polyphenols and to determine the antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity of Teucrium trifidum extracted with different organic solvents (acetone, ethanol and methanol) and distilled water. The results of the study revealed varying levels of polyphenols in the different solvent extracts. Condensed tannin, flavonoid and total phenolic content ranged from (77.339 ± 1.068) to (99.395 ± 1.490) mg CE/g; (3.398 ± 0.2410) to (53.253 ± 0.638) mg QE/g; (14.1087 ± 0.0915) to (21.7977 ± 0.0279) mg GAE/g, respectively. The extracts demonstrated high antioxidant activity in 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assays which were comparable to rutin and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and increased with increasing concentrations of polyphenols extract (P < 0.05). The agar dilution assay of acetone, ethanol and methanol extracts revealed an appreciable broad-spectrum activity against tested pathogenic bacteria. The findings of this study provide evidence that T. trifidum can be used as a natural source of antioxidant and antimicrobial components.

In vitro efficacy of Elephantorrhiza elephantina root extracts against adult Paramphistomum cervi in goats.

Elephantorrhiza elephantina is a medicinally important plant whose roots are used to control gastrointestinal parasites in goats. The use of plant-based anthelmintics as potential alternatives to synthetic anthelmintics in controlling gastrointestinal worms in ruminants is a promising area of research. The study was carried out to ascertain the efficacy of E. elephantina in controlling goat trematodes. Standard procedures were used to quantify the phytochemicals in the water, ethanol and methanol root extracts of E. elephantina. The quantitative phytochemical analysis revealed that alkaloids (93.24 ± 1.68%), condensed tannins (450.52 ± 0.15 mg CE/g), flavonoids (803.93 ± 0.13 mg QE/g), phenols (476.11 ± 0.37 mg GAE/g) and saponins (83.28 ± 1.72%) were present in E. elephantina root extracts. Paramphistomum cervi adult worms recovered from the rumen of freshly slaughtered goats were used. In vitro screening of ethanol, methanol and water extracts of E. elephantina for potential anthelmintic activity against adult P. cervi worm motility showed time and dose-dependent significant effects. Ethanol extracts showed a highly significant (P < 0.05) inhibition of motility (86.67 and 96.67%) at concentrations 7.5 and 15 mg/mL respectively, after 12 h of treatment, while methanol and water extracts exhibited a significant (P < 0.05) inhibition of motility (96.67 and 66.67% respectively) at concentration of 15 mg/mL 16 h post-exposure. Our findings confirm the efficacy of E. elephantina in controlling goat trematodes.