Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of chemically and green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on the shelf life and sensory quality of fish meat. In this study, ZnO-NPs were synthesized by employing the colloidal chemistry (CZnO-NPs) and green synthesis (GZnO-NPs) methods, and they were also characterized to assess their morphology. The synthesized ZnO-NPs, ZnO, and zinc acetate (ZnA) were used for the preservation and fortification of fish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) meat at 20 mg/kg of Zn. In a six-day storage study at 4 °C, the fish samples were evaluated for their sensory attributes (color and odor), physicochemical quality (pH and total volatile base nitrogen), oxidative changes (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and peroxide value), and microbial loads at 0, 3, and 6 days of storage. The fortification of raw fish with the synthesized CZnO-NPs produced better sensory attributes (color and odor) and maintained a pH non-conducive to microbial growth throughout the entire storage period compared with the control, ZnO, and ZnA-fortified samples. The GZnO-NPs largely did not provide any added advantage over CZnO-NPs but sometimes responded better than the control, ZnO, and ZnA samples. Oxidative status and total volatile base nitrogen were lower for CZnO-NPs in refrigerated fish compared with the other treatments. The ZnO-NP-fortified fish had the lowest counts of total viable bacteria, coliforms, Staphylococcus spp., and Vibrio spp. Hence, the fortification of fish with synthesized CZnO-NPs is promising as a food additive to reduce microbial spoilage and lipid peroxidation of fish in storage.