Effect of lavender and lemon balm extracts on fatty acid profile, chemical quality parameters and sensory quality of vacuum packaged anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) fillets under refrigerated condition

•French lavender (FL) and lemon balm (LB) extracts on sensory and chemical properties of anchovy was investigated.•Anchovy fillets treated with LB or FL extract reduced most of the chemical indices.•The extracts used prevented development of lipids oxidation and reducing the TVB-N values.•LB or FL extracts can be used by the food industry to extent the shelf life of seafood.

The impact of natural plant extracts on chemical parameters, fatty acid profile and sensory properties of vacuum packed anchovy was investigated refrigerated condition (2±1 °C). The anchovy fillets were separated into three groups; which were immersed in 1% French lavender (FL) or lemon balm (LB) extract and the control (C) without plant extract. Along with sensory analysis, the shelf-life of anchovies was 7 days for control and 11 days for both treated extracts. At the end of the storage period, the higher PUFA and omega-3 values were found as 24.43%, 30.97% and 27.88% for C group, FL and LB treatments, respectively. In addition, at the limit of acceptability, TVB-N values reached 41.17 mg/100 g for C group (7 days), 37.42 mg/100 and 42.86 mg/100 g for FL and LB batches (9 days), respectively. Lower PV and TBA values were observed in the fish fillets that treated the LB extract comparison with the other groups (P ≤ 0.05). Among samples, the application of plant extract caused lower value of FFA and pH compared to control group. These results suggest that treatment with FL and LB extracts prevents development of lipids oxidation and reduces the TVB-N values in anchovy's fillets resulting in shelf-life extension.