Effects of nisin and ε-polylysine on the microbial communities, biogenic amine formation and lipid oxidation in Chinese dry sausages

ABSTRACT In order to provide a basis for understand the potential of nisin and ε-polylysine (ε-PL) single use on replace or reduce nitrite in dry cured meat products, this study evaluated the effect of nisin and ε-PL on the microbial communities, biogenic amine (BA) formation, and lipid oxidation during storage in Chinese dry sausages not packaged. Our results revealed that the total proportion of the potentially beneficial bacteria (Lactococcus, Pediococcus, and Staphylococcus) were 22.6%-34.8% in the control, 19.5%-48.2% in the nisin treatment, and 16.2% −22.4% in the ε-PL treatment. The ε-PL had significantly lower total biogenic amine concentrations before 10 days. Putrescine (67.1–275 mg/kg) and tyramine (30.4–216 mg/kg) are the two main BAs in all treatments of dry sausages. Staphylococcus, Proteus, Enterococcus, and Klebsiella were the main bacteria genera that had a significant (P < 0.05) positive correlation to BAs accumulations. Except for day 10, nisin and ε-PL treatments could significantly reduce lipid oxidation during storage.