Oregano has been shown to inhibit lipid oxidation in cooked
ground beef and pork (30% fat, fresh meat basis) and in 85% lean raw beef ) studied the effects of water-soluble oregano extract
(Oreganox™ WS, RAD Natural Tech Ltd., Barrington Chemical Corp.,
New York) in cooked beef and pork and found that Oreganox™ WS
added at 0.02% was effective (pb0.05) at reducing lipid oxidation in
vacuum-packaged cooked beef samples held at −18 °C for 4 mo.
They also reported a reduction in TBARS values with oregano extract
added at 0.02% (Oreganox™) in cooked pork stored under the same
conditions, although there was no statistical difference (p>0.05).
Oregano may be used as a natural antioxidant in meat products,
but current research shows more powerful natural antioxidants are
available, such as grape seed extract, cranberry, sage extract, and
thyme extract, that exhibit a more significant reduction in TBARS
values in a variety of products.