Technological properties of Lactobacillus fermentum involved in the processing of dolo and pito, West African sorghum beers, for the selection of starter cultures.
OBJECTIVE
Technological properties of Lactobacillus fermentum isolates involved in spontaneous fermentation of dolo and pito wort were examined to select starter cultures.


RESULTS
264 isolates were screened for antimicrobial activity, acidifying activity, exopolysaccharides (EPSs) and amylase production. An antimicrobial activity was detected for 33.3%, 31.8%, 22.7% and 15.9% of the isolates towards Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A producer, Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A and B producer, Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua, respectively. A similarity was found between the isolates which were clustered in four groups according to their rates of acidification of sorghum malt broth. The faster acidifying group of isolates (43.48%) had a rate of acidification evaluated as Delta pH of 1.14 +/- 0.15 pH unit after 6 h of fermentation, followed by a second group of isolates (38.08%) with a similar rate of acidification after 9 h of fermentation. From the isolates endowed with an antimicrobial activity, 5.76% belonged to the faster acidifying group and 40.38% belonged to the second group. 88.7% of the isolates had the ability for producing EPSs but not amylase.


CONCLUSIONS
Lactobacillus fermentum ferments dolo and pito wort by lowering the pH and providing organic acids, EPSs and antimicrobial compounds.


CONCLUSIONS
Strains with a rapid rate of acidification, an antimicrobial activity and producing EPSs are suggested to have potential for starter cultures.
Sawadogo-Lingani
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H
Département Technologie Alimentaire (DTA)/IRSAT/CNRST, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. hagretou@yahoo.fr
Diawara
B
B
Traoré
A S
AS
Jakobsen
M
M
D000898:Antibiosis; D001515:Beer; D002050:Burkina Faso; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D005285:Fermentation; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007218:Industrial Microbiology; D052197:Limosilactobacillus fermentum / Q000502:physiology*; D008302:Mali; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D045868:Sorghum
D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial