Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeasts Associated with Cassava Fermentation to <i>attiéké</i> in Burkina Faso and Their Technological Properties

Abstract

Attiéké is an appreciate cassava fermented food introduced in Burkina Faso some decade ago. It has been spread out in all the country. The production is still traditional using a spontaneous way of fermentation. The present study aims to evaluate the main microorganisms groups associated with attiéké production and to identify yeast and Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) species according to biochemical (API 20 C AUX and API 50 CHL) and molecular (PCR) methods. Ninety-six (96) samples were collected from three (3) producers during four successive productions. LAB (1.34 up to 6.94 log CFU/g) are the main microorganisms associated to cassava fermentation to attiéké followed by yeasts (1.31 up to 6.25 log CFU/g). Thermo-tolerant Coliforms (1.56 log CFU/g) have been counted in traditional starter only while total coliforms were numbered in both traditional starter and attiéké (1.94 and 0.98 log CFU/g). Candida kruzei/incospicua, Candida norvegensis, Candida parapsilosis, Candida rugose, Candida boidinii, Candida tropicalis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Trichosporon ashii were identified as the main yeast species. Enterococcus spp, Lactobacillus brevis, Leuconostoc mesenroides spp mesenteroides/dextranicum, Lactococcus lactis spp lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides spp mesenteroides/dextranicum, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus buchneri were identified as LAB species associated. A difference between the biochemical and the molecular identification has been observed. The technological properties of these microorganisms need to be highlight for a selection of starter culture. The pH varies from 6.05 to 4.21 and the acidity from 0.5 to 4.8. The final cyanogen content is very low. The cyanogenic potential decrease from 8.6 to 0.07, free cyanogenic acid from 1.7 to 0.064 and the no cyanogenic glucogenic from 3.84 to 0.046. For an efficient fermentation of cassava to attiéké, there is then a need to select appropriate bacterial strains with starch fermenting properties to reduce the production time with high biochemical properties.