title: Development of a locally sustainable functional food based on mutandabota, a traditional food in southern Africa.
abstract: A probiotic dairy product was developed on the basis of a traditional dish called mutandabota to enable resource-poor populations in southern Africa to benefit from a functional food. Mutandabota is widely consumed in rural southern Africa, making it an ideal food matrix to carry probiotics. First, a process to produce probiotic mutandabota was designed. Raw cow milk was boiled and subsequently cooled to ambient temperature (25°C). Next, dry pulp from the fruit of the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) was added to the milk at a concentration of 4% (wt/vol). This mixture was inoculated with the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus yoba and left to ferment for 24h, while the growth of the bacterial culture was monitored. Final ingredients were then added to produce probiotic mutandabota that had 14% (wt/vol) baobab fruit pulp and 7% (wt/vol) sugar in cow milk. The pH of probiotic mutandabota was pH 3.5, which ensures that the product is microbiologically safe. The viable plate count of L. rhamnosus yoba increased from 5.8 ± 0.3 log cfu/mL at the point of inoculation to 8.8 ± 0.4 log cfu/mL at the moment of consumption, thereby meeting the criterion to have a viable count of the probiotic bacterium in excess of 6 log cfu/mL of a product. Baobab fruit pulp at 4% promoted growth of L. rhamnosus yoba with a maximal specific growth rate (μmax) of 0.6 ± 0.2/h at 30°C. The developed technology, though specific for this particular product, has potential to be applied for the delivery of probiotics through a variety of indigenous foods in different regions of the world. Upon consumption, probiotic mutandabota is expected to improve the population's intestinal health, which is especially relevant for vulnerable target groups such as children and elderly people.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, P. Bag 7724 Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe; Food Quality and Design, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG, Wageningen, the Netherlands; Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Augustine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mpofu
authors.affiliation: Food Quality and Design, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anita R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Linnemann
authors.affiliation: Yoba for Life Foundation, Hunzestraat 133-A, 1079 WB, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wilbert
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sybesma
authors.affiliation: Yoba for Life Foundation, Hunzestraat 133-A, 1079 WB, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Molecular Cell Physiology, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, NL-1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; TNO Microbiology and Systems Biology, PO Box 360, 3700 AJ, Zeist, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Remco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kort
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: M J R
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Nout
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: eddy.smid@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Eddy J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Smid
mesh_terms: D035162:Adansonia / Q000737:chemistry*; D003611:Dairy Products / Q000032:analysis*; D005285:Fermentation; D005504:Food Analysis; D005516:Food Microbiology; D055951:Functional Food / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D052201:Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus / Q000737:chemistry*; D019936:Probiotics / Q000737:chemistry*; D015030:Zimbabwe
keywords: Lactobacillus rhamnosus; baobab fruit; milk; probiotic mutandabota