Antioxidant and antimicrobial potency of Eupatorium inulifolium leaf extract for fish preservation

Fish is generally known as a perishable product. This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and antimicrobial potency of Eupatorium inulifolium leaf extract for fish preservation. The effect of different levels of the leaf extracts (0.1%, 0.25%, 0.5%) on the pH value, aw, Total Volatile Bases (TVB), Total Plate Count (TPC), and texture of tongkol fish ( Euthynnus Affinis ) during 4 days cold-storage was studied. The results showed that after 4 days of storage, the level of TVB was found at 28,745 mg/100 g in the control sample and 16,022 mg/100 g in the sample of fish with 0.5% of Eupatorium inulifolium leaf extract. On the last day of storage, the lowest number of microbe was found at 10.100 CFU/g in a sample of fish with 0.5% of Eupatorium inulifolium leaf extract while the highest number of microbe was 53,500 CFU/g in the control sample. The addition Eupatorium inulifolium leaf extract resulted in a harder texture. On the contrary, the Eupatorium inulifolium leaf extract addition had no significant effect on the aw value of the fish during storage. This study provided a new perspective of using Eupatorium inulifolium leaf extract for a natural preservative for fish.