Antioxidant and Anti-fungal Effect of Caraway (Carum Carvi L.) Essential Oil in Real Food System

The essential oil of caraway (CEO) was analyzed by GC-MS. Its predominant components were (Z)-anethole (26.34%), carvone (17.85%), limonene (15.45%), hydrocinnamyl acetate (8.29%) and carvacrol (6.68%). Antioxidant activity (AOA) of CEO was evaluated in cake during 60 days storage at 25°C. CEO at 0.10 and 0.15% could inhibit the rate of oxidation products formation in cake and their effect was almost equal to BHA at 0.02% (p<0.01). AOA of CEO maybe due to the presence of carvone, limonene and carvacrol. Also, the antimycotic effect of CEO was evaluated in cake during 60 days storage and results indicated that CEO at 0.10 and 0.15% could prevent the growth of fungi in it. Organoleptic evaluation of cakes containing 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15% of CEO showed no significant difference between them and the control sample (p<0.01). This essential oil could be used as natural preservative in foodstuffs especially those containing lipid.