International Journal of Aquaculture, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 1-10 http://www.aquapublisher.com/index.php/ija 1 Research Article Open Access Effect of Natural Preservatives (Moringa Leaf and Ginger Root) on Nutrients and Shelf Life of Smoked African Catfish Raimi C.O. 1 , Salami S.R. 2 1 Department of Agricultural Technology, School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 2 Department of Fisheries Technology, School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria Corresponding author: christosinr@gmail.com International Journal of Aquaculture, 2025, Vol.15, No.1 doi: 10.5376/ija.2025.15.0001 Received: 20 Nov., 2024 Accepted: 24 Dec., 2024 Published: 14 Jan., 2025 Copyright © 2024 Raimi and Salami, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Raimi C.O., and Salami S.R., 2025, Effect of natural preservatives (moringa leaf and ginger root) on nutrients and shelf life of smoked African catfish, International Journal of Aquaculture, 15(1): 1-10 (doi: 10.5376/ija.2025.15.0001) Abstract This research investigates the effectiveness of Moringa, Ginger, and their combination as bio-preservatives for smoked catfish. The study assessed these treatments’ impacts on proximate composition, biochemical and microbiological properties, and sensory attributes over a 12 week storage period. The combination of Moringa and Ginger (T4) significantly improved the nutritional quality of smoked catfish, achieving the lowest moisture content (4.84±0.13%) and the highest protein content (66.18±0.88%). This treatment also resulted in the lowest peroxide value (PV) (6.10±1.80 meq/kg), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBAR) (1.64±0.47 mg malondialdehyde/kg), total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) (13.21±5.73 mg N/100g), and trimethylamine nitrogen (TMA-N) (3.61±2.95 mg N/100g), indicating reduced lipid oxidation and protein degradation. Microbiological analysis revealed the lowest total viable count (TVC) (0.71±0.82×105 CFU/g) and yeast and mould count (0.09±0.04×103 CFU/g), suggesting better microbial stability. These findings confirm that Moringa and Ginger, especially in combination, are effective natural preservatives for improving the quality and extending the shelf life of smoked catfish. Their leaves contain vital phytochemicals and have intriguing applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries, and this is due to the many applications that can be found for their versatility, high levels of nutrition, and potential nutraceutical benefits. The study recommends adopting these bio-preservatives in fish processing, further research on their application across different fish species, and developing training programs for fish processors on their use. Keywords: African catfish; Moringa oleifera; Zingiber officinale; Storage stability 1 Introduction Fish has high protein content and low saturated fat content, which is considered as highly valuable food (EPSA, 2016). In particular, fish is the primary dietary source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), both of which are well-known for the anti-inflammatory action and protective effects on cardiovascular disease (Nestel et al., 2015; Vilavet et al., 2017). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a regular fish consumption of 1~2 servings per week to provide the equivalent of 200~500 mg of omega-3 PUFA (Tediosi et al., 2015; Wallin et al., 2015). According to statistics, fresh and live fish account for about half of the total seafood consumed by human beings. The word “fresh” refers to fish that have not been frozen, including still alive fish as well as kept in the cold but not frozen section or packed in modified atmosphere (Mcmanus et al., 2014). Unlike frozen fish, the fresh fish cannot stay as inventory for one month (Hicks, 2016). For consumers, freshness is also often associated with safety, reassurance and superior taste. In most cases, the customers believe that the fish sold in market in China are caught recently. However, it could take more than a week to arrive at these stores. Consumers are still unsure whether the “fresh” product is really fresh or has been frozen and then thawed.(Wakamatsu and Miyata, 2015, Bruhn, 2016). In recent years, researchers have put much effort into searching natural preservatives that could inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi in food. Meanwhile, a growing number of consumers are aware of the potential negative health effects of chemical preservatives, which has prompted the food industry to find natural products used and
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