Antioxidant activity and preservative effect of Thymus Schimperi R.

Nowadays, consumer need products with fewer synthetic additives but increased quality and shelf-life. As a result there has been growing interest in natural antioxidant and antimicrobial. Due to safety concerns, there is an increasing trend among food scientists to replace these synthetic antioxidants and antimicrobial with natural and organic one which in general supposed to be safer. Investigating for cheap and abundant natural sources is attracting worldwide interest since the trend of consumers and many health related industries tends to shift preferences to natural sources.Thus, the use of spices and herbs as antioxidant and antimicrobial in perishable foods is becoming of increasing importance in the food industry. Among these thyme (Thymus Schimperi R.) is the potential herb to extract natural antioxidants and antimicrobial compounds.