Ginger Essential Oil Extracted by Low-Temperature Continuous Phase Transition and Its Preservation Effect on Prepared Duck Meat

Ginger essential oil is widely used in the food industry due to its unique aroma and antibacterial activity. In this study, for the first time, ginger essential oil was extracted using a low-temperature continuous phase transition (LTCPT) device and used in the study of the preservation effect of prepared duck meat. Compared to water vapor distillation, LTCPT increased the extraction rate of ginger essential oil by 3.3 times and produced seven additional active ingredients. Meanwhile, the content of zingiberene in ginger essential oil obtained by this method is as high as 38.12%. Further, a nanoemulsion with a particle size of 145.6 nm and zeta potential of − 42.4 mV was used as a carrier to investigate the preservative effect of ginger essential oil on duck breast meat. Ginger essential oil not only inhibited the microbial growth and reduced the production of malondialdehyde and volatile basic nitrogen but also slowed down the rise of pH value during the storage of duck breast, thus extending the shelf life by about 21 days. Finally, analysis of the microflora changes of duck breast meat revealed that ginger essential oil decreased the abundance of the dominant spoilage bacteria (Acinetobacter) by approximately 2.6 times at 14 days compared to the control group. In conclusion, this study provides new ideas in the research aspect of preservation of prepared meat products.