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The aim of the current study was to investigate the suitability of Ziziphora tenuior essential oil (ZEO) as a preservative. For this purpose, the effect of free and microencapsulated ZEO, combined with orange fiber, was determined on the chemical and microbial qualities of cooked beef sausage. In this study, modified starch was used for encapsulation of essential oil, and subsequently, 0.5% ZEO and 1% orange fiber were used for preparing cooked beef sausages during 60 days of storage at 4°C. To assess the microbial quality of samples, total viable count (TVC), psychrophilic count (PSY), and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were analyzed. Furthermore, peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were tested to examine lipid oxidation. The most components of ZEO were pulegone (47.12%), isomenthone (14.57%), and 1,8-cineole (12.84%) according to GC-MS analysis. The reducing power, DPPH radical scavenging activity, MIC, and MBC of ZEO were 16.44 (EC 50 ), 8.36 (IC 50 ), 0.625-2.5, and 1.25-5 mg/ml, respectively. Moreover, sausage containing 0.5% microencapsulated ZEO in combination with 1% orange fiber showed the best results with the following values ( p  ≤ .05): TVC (3.69 log CFU/g), PSY (3.51 log CFU/g), LAB (3.1 log CFU/g), PV (10.41 meq/kg lipid), and TBARS (3.1 mg MDA/kg). This is due to the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of microencapsulated essential oil. Therefore, the results of the present study can be applied in the meat industries as a new natural preservation method., Competing Interests: None., (© 2022 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)