*Article* **Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Rosemary, Pomegranate and Olive Extracts in Fish Patties**

**Lorena Martínez 1, Julián Castillo 2, Gaspar Ros 1 and Gema Nieto 1,\***


Received: 6 March 2019; Accepted: 28 March 2019; Published: 3 April 2019

**Abstract:** Natural extracts (rich in bioactive compounds) that can be obtained from the leaves, peels and seeds, such as the studied extracts of Pomegranate (P), Rosemary (RA, Nutrox OS (NOS) and Nutrox OVS (NOVS)), and olive (*Olea europaea*) extracts rich in hydroxytyrosol (HYT-F from olive fruit and HYT-L from olive leaf) can act as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents in food products to replace synthetic additives. The total phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity (measured by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-Azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazolin) -6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), and Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC H)) and their antimicrobial power (using the diffusion disk method with the *Escherichia Coli, Lysteria monocytogenes,* and *Staphilococcus Aureus* strains) were measured. The results showed that all the extracts were good antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds in vitro. On the other hand, their antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity was also measured in fish products acting as preservative agents. For that, volatile fatty acid compounds were analysed by GS-MS at day 0 and 11 from elaboration, together with total vial count (TVC), total coliform count (TCC), *E. Coli,* and *L. monocytogenes* content at day 0, 4, 7 and 11 under refrigerated storage. The fish patties suffered rapid lipid oxidation and odour and flavour spoilage associated with slight rancidity. Natural extracts from pomegranate, rosemary, and hydroxytyrosol delayed the lipid oxidation, measured as volatile compounds, and the microbiological spoilage in fish patties. Addition of natural extracts to fish products contributed to extend the shelf life of fish under retail display conditions.

**Keywords:** antioxidant; antimicrobial; hydroxytyrosol; rosemary; pomegranate; fish; volatile compounds
