evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of sea cucumber (holothuria leucospilota) extract on the shelf-life of rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss) fillets during refrigerated storage

in this study, the antimicrobial effect of sea cucumber extract (0.5, 1 and 2%) on the microbial population of rainbow trout fillets during refrigerated storage was examined. fillets were stored for 16 days and every 4 days microbial tests (including total bacterial load, pseudomonas, enterobacteriaceae and h2s producing bacteria) were performed on the samples. results showed that there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) for the total bacterial load in all treatments during the storage time. for the samples treated with the extract, pseudomonas, enterobacteriaceae and h2s producing bacterial count was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the control samples. also among the different concentrations, 2% of the extract showed the highest antibacterial activity. the findings of this study showed that the sea cucumber extract could be a natural preservative for the storage of fishery products in the short-term storage in cold conditions.