Effect of Propolis as a Preservative Applied to Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) Meat Hamburger, Huancavelica, Peru

Abstract

Natural preservatives have less of a negative effect on human health and other systems, making them the superior choice over conventional preservatives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of propolis, a natural preservative, affected the flavour and texture of an artisanal hamburger made with alpaca meat (Vicugna pacos). An experimental design with 5 treatments was established, a control treatment of alpaca hamburger with artificial preservative (T1) and four experimental treatments with the addition of propolis (0.25 ml, 0.50 ml, 0.75 ml and 1.0 ml in 100 g of meat mixture). The Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric variance test and the Mann-Whitney non-parametric test were utilised to examine the data collected from the randomised full blocks design of the experiment. Thirty semi-trained tasters evaluated propolis on its general look, smell, taste, colour, and texture, in addition to its antibacterial effects on Staphylococcus aureus. The results showed that the bacterial count of S. aureus was kept at 1.5x10 CFU/g, which is between the allowable ranges of 102 and 103, suggesting that propolis has the ability to inhibit this bacteria. The sensory tests showed that the addition of propolis does not produce negative effects on the general appearance, smell, taste and texture compared to the control treatment, only the color was affected only in doses greater than 0.5 ml per 100 g of meat mixture. In conclusion, the applicability of propolis as a preservative in the alpaca meat hamburger is verified.