الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Rosemary fresh herb samples (50g each) were weighed and packaged in nine different packaging materials: Butter bags (P1), Cellophane bags (P2), Nylon bags (P3), Polyethylene bags (P4), Aluminum foils (P5), Aluminum plates covered with foil (P6), Aluminum plates covered with plastic film (P7), Foam plates covered with foil (P8), Foam plates covered with plastic film (P9). The different packages were divided into four groups; the first group was left in the lab at room atmosphere, while the other three groups were stored inside refrigerators at three different temperatures (1, 3 and 5 °C). The samples (total 20 samples for each package) were examined every week until the end of the shelf-life of the herb. The obtained results could be summarized as follow: 1. The results showed that increasing storage period resulted in increasing the fresh weight loss and decreasing the total chlorophyll content of the herbs. The less the storage period of the herb, the less the changes in their fresh weight, and the slowest the chlorophyll degradation. 2. Herbs kept in Butter bags (P1) lost their fresh weight faster and sharper than those kept in other packaging materials, while those in Aluminum foils (P5) were the least to lose weight and in had steadier pattern than the other herbs. 3. At the end of the storage period (after six weeks), herbs kept in Aluminum foils (P5) and Aluminum plates covered with foil (P6) had the least fresh weight loss percentage, and the highest chlorophyll content and had the in both seasons. It is also clear that Aluminum foils (P5) and Aluminum plates covered with foil (P6) kept the chlorophyll content of the herb at high values for long period especially at 1°C. 4. Essential oil percentage in herbs stored at 3 °C was superior to those stored under the other two temperatures (1 and 5 °C) in both seasons. Herbs kept in Butter bags (P1) had maximum oil percentage until the second week of storage. Cellophane bags (P2) were the highest in the fourth week of storage, while at the fifth week of storage; Foam plates covered with foil (P8) was the highest. 5. The total percentage of each of hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds were higher at 3°C than those at either 1 or 5 °C at the two comparable storage periods. At a storage temperature of 3 °C, all hydrocarbons had higher percentages after one week of storage than after three weeks of storage, except for β- pinene and limonene, while oxygenated compounds had higher percentages after three weeks of storage than after one week of storage, except for thymol and terpineol. According to the results of the present study, it could be concluded that, the end of six weeks of storage, only herbs packed in Aluminum foils (P5) and Aluminum plates covered with foil (P6) stored at 3 °C maintained their fresh weight, chlorophyll content, and achieved longer shelf-life than other treatments in both seasons. Aluminum plates covered with foil (P6) and Aluminum foils (P5) were marketable in both seasons, but (P6) had higher oil percentage than (P5). The total percentage of each of hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds were higher at 3 °C than those at either 1 or 5 °C at the two comparable storage periods.