antimicrobial effect of saturejaba chtiarica essential oil in ground beef contaminated with pseudomonas aeruginosa during refrigerated period

background: today, in an attempt to reduce the human exposure to synthetic compounds such as chemical preservatives, some studies aimed at the replacement of artificial preservatives with natural ingredients with natural protective effects. methods: in the present study the microbial inhibition effect of saturejaba chtiarica essential oil in three different concentrations (0.1, 0.05, and 0.025%) was studied in minced beef which had already been contaminated with 10 3 /gr psoudomonas aeruginosa cells. the study was carried out during the refrigerated period (14 d at 5°c) and changes in the psoudomonas aeruginosa count together with total microbial count were tracked in a 3 day time intervals. findings: the trial containing 0.1% essential oil appeared to produce the most inhibition effect against the microbial population. however, during the study period all the treated samples showed some degree of antagonistic activity which resulted in the less microbial population than that of the control sample. conclusion: in conclusion, the possible utilization of essential oil of saturejaba chtiarica as a natural preservative in cold ground red meat was confirmed by this study.