Abstract
A traditional fermented porridge made from maize, cassava and rice, named calugi, was microbiologically and chemically analyzed. Our results show that aerobic mesophilic bacteria reached values of approximately 7 log CFU ml-1 and were the predominant group; acetic acid bacteria were also observed at the onset of fermentation (3.82 log CFU ml-1). The population of lactic acid bacteria was 3.7 log CFU ml-1 and remained constant throughout the fermentation. The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) bands were identified as Corynebacterium variabile, Lactobacillus paracasei, L. plantarum, L. casei, Bacillus spp. (Bacillus cereus group), B. subtilis, Streptomyces sp., Enterobacter cloacae, Streptococcus parasanguis, Streptococcus salivarius, Weissella cibaria and Weissella confusa, in addition to uncultivable bacteria. The most abundant carbohydrate in the substrate was maltose (38 g L-1 at the beginning of fermentation). Acetic and lactic acids were the principal acids found by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (0.66 g L-1 and 3.54 g L-1, respectively). Twenty-one (21) minor compounds were identified by gas chromatography during the fermentation process. The compounds present at the highest concentrations were furfuryl alcohol, nonanoic acid, decanoic acid and 1,1-dietoxyethane. These appeared to be related to the flavor of the calugi. Key words: Indigenous food, cereal fermentation, cassava, corn, volatile compounds, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), saliva.
Highlights
Indigenous fermented foods are of worldwide interest and have provided new avenues for scientific research in the past
Our results show that aerobic mesophilic bacteria reached values of approximately 7 log CFU ml-1 and were the predominant group; acetic acid bacteria were observed at the onset of fermentation (3.82 log CFU ml-1)
The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) bands were identified as Corynebacterium variabile, Lactobacillus paracasei, L. plantarum, L. casei, Bacillus spp. (Bacillus cereus group), B. subtilis, Streptomyces sp., Enterobacter cloacae, Streptococcus parasanguis, Streptococcus salivarius, Weissella cibaria and Weissella confusa, in addition to uncultivable bacteria
Summary
Indigenous fermented foods are of worldwide interest and have provided new avenues for scientific research in the past. Several Amerindian tribes in Brazil (Araweté, Kayapó, Karajá, Javaé, Juruna and Tapirapé) use small-scale fermentation to produce foods and beverages with high nutritional value, which have medical and religious significance (Wagley, 1988). These indigenous groups have little contact with external cul-tures; investigating Brazilian indigenous food is not easy (Santos et al, 2012). The study of these beverages and fermented foods is necessary for describing the empirical knowledge of indigenous people and to contribute information to improve the food safety of these products. Studies charac terizing the microbiota of various traditional products revealed a great diversity of bacteria involved in fermentation.According to Almeida et al (2007) Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Corynebacterium and Enterobacter
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