Effects of Astragalus membranaceus, Adenophora triphylla, and Ulmus pumila Extracts on Quality Characteristics and Storage Stability of Sous-Vide Cooked Chicken Breasts

This study aimed to investigate the influence of Astragalus membranaceus (AM), Adenophora triphylla (AT), and Ulmus pumila (UP) extracts on the quality traits, palatability, and storage stability of sous-vide (SV) cooked chicken breasts. Chicken breasts were marinated in AM, AT, or UP extracts for 1 h, and then consistently cooked at a constant temperature of 60°C for 2 h. SV cooked chicken breasts with the UP extract exhibited lower lightness and higher yellowness values on the surface region compared to those with the AM and AT extracts (p<0.05). The control and UP groups displayed a similar overall visual acceptability (p>0.05), although the UP group had lower color acceptability (p<0.01). The UP group also had higher flavor and lower off-flavor intensities compared to the control group (p<0.05), although similar scores were observed in tenderness attributes and juiciness among the groups (p>0.05). Owing to these results regarding overall sensory acceptability, samples from the UP group were more preferred by the trained panelists compared to samples from the control group (p<0.001). On 14 d of cold storage, all the groups with herbal medicinal extracts exhibited a lower concentration of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances than the control group (p<0.05), and the AT and UP groups showed lower values compared to the AM group due to their higher flavonoid contents (p<0.001). Therefore, meat marination with herbal plant extracts before SV cooking can be effective for enhancing the overall quality of SV cooked chicken breast.