Unlocking the outcomes of Syzygium cumini concentrate marination on the physicochemical and sensorial properties, oxidative and microbial stability of beef

This study investigated the effects of Syzygium cumini concentrate marination on the physicochemical, sensory, oxidative, and microbial stability of beef, comparing BMS 1 -BMS 3 (marination for 1–3 h) with the unmarinated control (B 0 ). Chromatic values slightly decreased with increase in marination time. Marination improved textural properties significantly ( p < 0.05 ) by reducing hardness (58.8–34.1), gumminess (21.6–17.1), chewiness (15.4–14) and cooking loss (31.4–21.4) of beef samples from B 0 -BMS 3 . By the end of storage period (day-9), pH values reduced 5.7–5.5 among the treated samples for BMS 1 -BMS 3 . Simultaneously, oxidative stability improved, with reduction in TBARS (1.9–1.4 mg MDA/kg) in BMS 1 -BMS 3 than control (2.6 mg MDA/kg). Marinated samples showed lower total plate counts, E. coli and S. aureus (4.4, 1.5 and 2.1) against control (5.4, 2.3 and 3.3) Log 10 CFU/g. SEM and FTIR reported that marination improved beef surface morphology and compositional characteristics. Additionally, BMS 2 showed highest sensory acceptance, whereas BMS 3 depicted strongest preservation effects. PCA and correlation analysis revealed associations among the physicochemical, sensory, oxidative, and microbiological parameters, consistent with improved quality preservation in marinated beef during refrigerated storage.