Abstract
The counts and identification of lactic acid bacteria isolated from the ferment “kpete-kpete” of the traditional beer (tchoukoutou) collected from nine large producing cities of Benin were carried out. Out of 209 strains isolated, 135 strains were purified, identified and were member of four different types based on their morphological traits, biochemical tests, API 50CH gallery and genotypic characterization (PCR technique). They are of the genus Lactobacillus (72), Enterococcus (38), Leuconostoc (11), Streptococcus (7) and Pediococcus (7). But the study of the biochemical and physiological characteristics identified 128 strains of the following species: Lactobacillus fermentum (47), Lactobacillus divergens (17), Lactobacillus bifermentum (2), Lactobacillus fructuvoans (2), Lactobacillus casei (2), Lactobacillus acidophilus (2), Enterococcus faecium (33), Enterococcus faecalis (5), Streptococcus thermophilus (7) and Leuconostoc mesenteroides (11). The genus Lactobacillus (56.25%) was dominant followed by the genus Enterococcus (25.78%). Key words: Tchoukoutou ferment, lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus characterization, Benin.
Highlights
The lactic acid fermentation is a biological process in which a group of gram positive bacteria, growing under anaerobic conditions and using the carbon sources to produce lactic acid as a major organic acid is involved
The counts and identification of lactic acid bacteria isolated from the ferment “kpètè-kpètè” of the traditional beer collected from nine large producing cities of Benin were carried out
The study of morphological, biochemical, physiological and genotypic characters of 128 isolates isolated from the ferment “kpètè-kpètè” of traditional beer produced in Benin revealed 4 genera (Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Enterococcus and Streptococcus) and 10 different species
Summary
The lactic acid fermentation is a biological process in which a group of gram positive bacteria, growing under anaerobic conditions and using the carbon sources to produce lactic acid as a major organic acid is involved. Many studies have examined the major role of yeast and lactic acid bacteria genera in different sorts of fermented food (meat, milk, cereals and alcoholic beverages) process (Brandt, 2007; Aidoo et al, 2006; Romano et al, 2006). Among those foods, alcoholic beverages such as “tchoukoutou” represent a vast diversity of products ranging from table wines, sake, cider, fruit wines, beer and distilled alcoholic products (Kayodé et al, 2007). Yeasts and molds may be responsible for the fermentation of “tchoukoutou” because, it ferment named "kpètè-kpètè" is dominated by lactic acid bacteria (7.8±0.16 LogUCF/g) and yeast (8.2±0.36LogUCF/g) (Kayode et al, 2006)
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