Student or educator? Sign up with your school email and get 6 months of Pro free.
Cited by 7Meat and Animal Product QualityEssential Oils and Antimicrobial ActivityPostharvest Quality and Shelf Life Management

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 92 of the 92 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 86 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Preservative Potential of Anethum graveolens Essential Oil on Fish Fillet Quality and Shelf Life During Refrigerated Storage

Open access

Abstract

This study estimated the preservative potential of Dill essential oil (DEO, Anethum graveolens) in terms of the quality and shelf life of Pangasius bocourti (basa fish) fillets during cold storage. GC-MS analysis of DEO’s chemical composition identified monoterpenes, including α-phellandrene (21.81%), d-limonene (18.54%), carvone (17.42%), and Dill ether (14.82%). DEO showed concentration-dependent antioxidant properties in the DPPH assay, with an IC50 of 48.3 ± 0.9 µg/mL (mean ± SE). Its antibacterial efficacy against various foodborne pathogens was evaluated using the resazurin turbidimetric microdilution method. Fish fillets were treated with DEO at 200, 2000, and 4000 ppm, and compared to the untreated control and 200 ppm butylhydroxytoluene (BHT)-treated groups. Physicochemical parameters, microbial growth, and sensory characteristics were assessed over a 15-day period at 2.5 °C ± 0.5 °C. Higher concentrations of DEO effectively preserved the pH, water-holding capacity, and color stability of the fillets. Microbial analysis showed that DEO, particularly at 4000 ppm, significantly inhibited the growth of aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, coliforms, and staphylococci compared with the control. Sensory evaluation revealed that DEO treatment, especially at 4000 ppm, maintained the odor, color, texture, and overall acceptability of fish fillets throughout storage. These results suggest that Anethum graveolens L. essential oil can serve as an effective natural preservative to enhance the quality and prolong the shelf life of refrigerated fish fillets.

Overview

CoChat Summary

Written by AI from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Dill essential oil (DEO, *Anethum graveolens*) was rich in monoterpenes, showed antioxidant and antibacterial activity in vitro, and when applied to basa fish fillets at 2000–4000 ppm during 15 days at 2.5 °C helped maintain physicochemical and sensory quality. DEO, especially at 4000 ppm, reduced some microbial counts and may serve as a natural preservative alternative to BHT, though effects varied by parameter and storage time.

Key findings

  • GC-MS identified α-phellandrene (21.81%), d-limonene (18.54%), carvone (17.42%), and Dill ether (14.82%) as major DEO constituents; DEO had concentration-dependent DPPH scavenging with an IC50 of 48.3 ± 0.9 µg/mL.
  • DEO was more active against Gram-positive bacteria, with MICs as low as 0.195 mg/mL for *Listeria monocytogenes* ATCC 19115 and *Staphylococcus aureus* ST62/NC15; Gram-negative MICs were higher: *E. coli* ATCC 25922 ≥3.9 mg/mL, *Salmonella* BS26/BS29 6.25 mg/mL, and N7/N9 3.12 mg/mL.
  • In refrigerated basa fillets, DEO at 4000 ppm maintained pH, water-holding capacity, color stability, and sensory attributes better than control; on day 9, higher DEO reduced aerobic plate count below 5 log CFU/g and DEO-treated groups had lower staphylococcal counts than control.
  • By 12–15 days, APC and LAB exceeded 6 log CFU/g in all groups, including DEO-treated fish; many microbial differences were not statistically significant except at specific time points.

Methods

  • DEO was obtained by hydrodistillation, analyzed by GC-MS, tested for antioxidant activity by DPPH assay, and screened for antibacterial activity using resazurin-based turbidimetric microdilution MIC/MBC against *E. coli*, *Salmonella enterica* isolates, *L. monocytogenes*, and *S. aureus* strains.
  • Fresh *Pangasius bocourti* fillets (7.5 kg total, 300 g each) were divided into five groups: control, 200 ppm BHT, and DEO at 200, 2000, and 4000 ppm; fillets were dipped for 30 min, stored at 2.5 ± 0.5 °C, and analyzed on days 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15.
  • Analyses included pH, WHC, purge loss, cooking loss, Warner–Bratzler shear force, instrumental color, microbial counts (APC, LAB, coliforms, staphylococci), and sensory evaluation by a trained 10-member panel using a 9-point hedonic scale; data were analyzed with GLMs, Tukey’s test, and PCA.

Limitations

  • The paper states the study focused on only one fish type and one constant storage setting, and that future research should define mechanisms of action and estimate in vivo safety data.
  • Evident from the text: many microbial effects were not statistically significant (e.g., APC, LAB, and coliforms generally p > 0.05 except at specific days), and the experiment was conducted in duplicate with sensory evaluation by a 10-member panel.
  • Evident from the text: no in vivo safety, consumer acceptance, or shelf-life validation beyond the 15-day refrigerated storage period is reported.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/foods14091591

Cites

92 of 92 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

Figure 1 Fish sample preparation and treatment using BHT and three different concentrations of Dill essential oil. (A) Control group; (B) BH-treated group; (C) Dill essential oil-treated group (200 ppm); (D) Dill essential oil-treated group (2000 ppm); and (E) Dill essential oil-treated group (4000 ppm).
Figure 1 Fish sample preparation and treatment using BHT and three different concentrations of Dill essential oil. (A) Control group; (B) BH-treated group; (C) Dill essential oil-treated group (200 ppm); (D) Dill essential oil-treated group (2000 ppm); and (E) Dill essential oil-treated group (4000 ppm).CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 2 DDPH scavenging % of Dill essential oil.
Figure 2 DDPH scavenging % of Dill essential oil.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 3 Microdilution assay for determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Dill essential oil (DEO) against bacterial strains.
Figure 3 Microdilution assay for determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Dill essential oil (DEO) against bacterial strains.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 4 Changes in physicochemical parameters over time in fish subjected to different Dill essential oil treatments.
Figure 4 Changes in physicochemical parameters over time in fish subjected to different Dill essential oil treatments.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 5 Changes in color parameters of fish meat samples subjected to different treatments over a 15-day storage period. a* (Red–Green Axis): measures the degree of redness (+a*) or greenness (−a*), which is primarily influenced by myoglobin oxidation; b* (Yellow–Blue Axis): represents yellowness (+b*) or blueness (−b*), which is often associated with lipid oxidation and pigment degradation; L* (Lightness Intensity): indicated by the color gradient, with darker shades representing lower L* values and lighter shades indicating higher L* values.
Figure 5 Changes in color parameters of fish meat samples subjected to different treatments over a 15-day storage period. a* (Red–Green Axis): measures the degree of redness (+a*) or greenness (−a*), which is primarily influenced by myoglobin oxidation; b* (Yellow–Blue Axis): represents yellowness (+b*) or blueness (−b*), which is often associated with lipid oxidation and pigment degradation; L* (Lightness Intensity): indicated by the color gradient, with darker shades representing lower L* values and lighter shades indicating higher L* values.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 6 Changes in color stability parameters of fish meat during storage under different Dill essential oil treatments.
Figure 6 Changes in color stability parameters of fish meat during storage under different Dill essential oil treatments.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 7 Microbial analysis of fish fillets stored at refrigeration (4 °C) for 15 days after treatment with Dill essential oil (DEO) at three concentrations (DEO-1, DEO-2, and DEO-3) compared with the control and BHT groups. (A) Aerobic plate count (APC); (B) lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count; (C) coliform count; and (D) total staphylococcal count. Error Bars represent the standard error (SE) of the mean microbial counts (log CFU/g) at each storage period.
Figure 7 Microbial analysis of fish fillets stored at refrigeration (4 °C) for 15 days after treatment with Dill essential oil (DEO) at three concentrations (DEO-1, DEO-2, and DEO-3) compared with the control and BHT groups. (A) Aerobic plate count (APC); (B) lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count; (C) coliform count; and (D) total staphylococcal count. Error Bars represent the standard error (SE) of the mean microbial counts (log CFU/g) at each storage period.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 8 Sensory evaluation of fish meat treated with different concentrations of Dill essential oil compared to BHT and the control group over a 15-day storage period. The sensory attributes assessed included odor (A), color (B), texture (C), and overall acceptability (D) at different time intervals.
Figure 8 Sensory evaluation of fish meat treated with different concentrations of Dill essential oil compared to BHT and the control group over a 15-day storage period. The sensory attributes assessed included odor (A), color (B), texture (C), and overall acceptability (D) at different time intervals.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 9 Scatter plot matrix of physicochemical parameters (pH, WHC, PL, and CL) in stored fish meat under different treatment groups and storage durations. Each subplot represents the relationship between two variables, with diagonal plots displaying kernel density estimations (KDEs) for distribution analysis. Storage days are color-coded (D-Zero, D-3rd, D-6th, D-9th, and D-12th), while treatment groups are represented by different marker shapes (● CON, ■ BHT, ♦ DEO-1, ▲ DEO-2, and ▼ DEO-3).
Figure 9 Scatter plot matrix of physicochemical parameters (pH, WHC, PL, and CL) in stored fish meat under different treatment groups and storage durations. Each subplot represents the relationship between two variables, with diagonal plots displaying kernel density estimations (KDEs) for distribution analysis. Storage days are color-coded (D-Zero, D-3rd, D-6th, D-9th, and D-12th), while treatment groups are represented by different marker shapes (● CON, ■ BHT, ♦ DEO-1, ▲ DEO-2, and ▼ DEO-3).CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 10 PCA analysis of treatment effects.
Figure 10 PCA analysis of treatment effects.CC BY · PubMed Central

Verification

Claims the paper makes

169 Own result · 56 Own interpretation · 44 Check pending · 21 No full text of the sources · 6 Not checked yet · 5 Own method

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 94
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 25

Create a free account to see these claims.

Create a free account to see these assumptions.

187 more claims

Create a free account to see all 301 claims and to verify the 56 references still open.

See all claims — free account

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

4 of 4

Citations

Cites

Show all 92 references

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Bragadóttir, M. (2001). Endogenous Antioxidants in Fish. [Ph.D. Thesis, University of Iceland].
  2. Faustman, C. (2014, January 15–18). Meat Quality Myoglobin Chemistry and Modifications That Influence (Color and) Color Stability. Proceedings of the American Meat Science Association, 67th Annual Reciprocal Meat Conference, Madison, WI, USA.
  3. Ruangamnart, 2015, Chemical Compositions and Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oil from Dill Fruits (Anethum graveolens L.) Cultivated in Thailand, Mahidol Univ. J. Pharm. Sci., 42, 135

Cited by

See all 7

Metadata

Authors
Tayel, A., Hassanin, F. S., Edris, S. N., Hamad, A., & Sabeq, I. I.
Affiliations
Benha University (EG)
Corresponding author
Sabeq, Islam I.
Venue
Foods
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2025-04-30
Volume
14
Issue
9
Pages
1591
ISSN
2304-8158 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4410004777
Cited by
7
References
92
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 1
FWCI
4.08
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Foods (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Meat and Animal Product Quality
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Postharvest Quality and Shelf Life Management
Keywords
dill essential oil, dill, Pangasius bocourti, fish fillet preservation, natural preservatives, cold storage, shelf life, antibacterial activity, foodborne pathogens, antioxidant activity, monoterpenes, water holding capacity, color stability, sensory quality, lactic acid bacteria, aerobic bacteria

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-11-12, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-11-12 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

How to cite

Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.

This page
CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Preservative Potential of Anethum graveolens Essential Oil on Fish Fillet Quality and Shelf Life During Refrigerated Storage. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.3390/foods14091591
The paper
Tayel, A., Hassanin, F. S., Edris, S. N., Hamad, A., & Sabeq, I. I. (2025). Preservative Potential of Anethum graveolens Essential Oil on Fish Fillet Quality and Shelf Life During Refrigerated Storage. Foods. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14091591