Fig. 4.

Effect of in vivo exposure to different concentrations of the essential oil of L. alba on the mesophilic (a) and psychrotrophic (b) bacteria counts of silver catfish during storage in ice. Values are the mean ± standard error (n = 3). In a ANOVA revealed a significant effect of storage time and treatment but no interaction between these two variables on the mesophilic counts. In b ANOVA revealed a significant time × treatment interaction on the psychrotrophic counts. *Significantly different from controls at the same day of storage (p < 0.05). For clarity purposes only the statistical differences between control and treatments are indicated in the figure, whereas the differences observed in the same group along the storage are presented in the results section