Abstract
Traditional fermented foods and beverages are common in many countries, including Zambia. While the general (nutritional) benefits of fermented foods are widely recognised, the nutritional composition of most traditional fermented foods is unknown. Furthermore, fermentation is known to add nutritional value to raw materials, mainly by adding B-vitamins and removing anti-nutritional factors. In the case of traditional fermentation, the composition of microbial communities responsible for fermentation varies from producer to producer and this may also be true for the nutritional composition. Here, we characterized the nutrient profile and microbial community composition of two traditional fermented foods: milk-based Mabisi and cereal-based Munkoyo. We found that the two products are different with respect to their nutritional parameters and their microbial compositions. Mabisi was found to have higher nutritional values for crude protein, fat, and carbohydrates than Munkoyo. The microbial community composition was also different for the two products, while both communities were dominated by lactic acid bacteria. Our analyses showed that variations in nutritional composition, defined as the amount of consumption that would contribute to the estimated average requirement (EAR), might be explained by variations in microbial community composition. Consumption of Mabisi appeared to contribute more than Munkoyo to the EAR and its inclusion in food-based recommendations is warranted. Our results show the potential of traditional fermented foods such as Mabisi and Munkoyo to add value to current diets and suggests that variations in microbial composition between specific product samples can result in variations in nutritional composition.
Highlights
In many countries, locally processed traditional foods exist and these contribute to the diets of their consumers
Mabisi and Munkoyo samples were collected in Mkushi from different processors, each processor producing only one of the two types of traditional fermented food products
Our results show a marked difference in microbial composition between Mabisi and Munkoyo, which is in slight contrast with earlier work [13]
Summary
Locally processed traditional foods exist and these contribute to the diets of their consumers. Nutrients 2020, 12, 1628 documented, their functional properties such as product composition, organoleptic characteristics and shelf life are unknown and the way these affect their nutritional composition has not been assessed. As a result, these local traditional foods are often not included in food-based dietary guidelines nor in estimations of how they can contribute to local food and nutrition security. Like in other fermented foods, fermentation adds value to the raw materials used, resulting in a product with a prolonged shelf-life and stability and an increased sensory, and monetary value [1,2]. Apart from increased nutritional contents compared to raw materials, fermented foods possess beneficial effects on human health, for example, through the modification of gut microbiota leading to a better immune response and the lowering of a person’s risk of hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol [10]; the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) [11]; and anti-carcinogenic and hypo-cholesterolemic effects [12]
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