Oxidative stability of fermented Italian-type sausages using mate leaves (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil) extract as natural antioxidant.

The objective of this work is to evaluate the effects of the addition of dried extract from mate leaves on the oxidative stability (lipid and protein), microbiological characteristics (lactic and Micrococcaceae bacteria) and sensory attributes of formulations of Italian-type sausages. The different Italian-type sausages formulations tested in this work were in agreement with the legislation in terms of chemical and microbiological parameters. During storage, the formulation with 0.4 wt% of mate leaves extract presented lower thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and carbonyl values compared with the control, proving the antioxidant action of the extract. The sensory characteristics of flavour, texture and global acceptation were not affected by the addition of mate extract compared with the formulation with artificial antioxidant.