Nutritional Compositions of Optimally Processed Umqombothi (a South African Indigenous Beer)

Edwin Hlangwani,Oluwafemi Ayodeji Adebo,Janet Adeyinka Adebiyi

doi:10.3390/fermentation7040225

Edwin Hlangwani, Oluwafemi Ayodeji Adebo + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation7040225

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Journal: Fermentation	Publication Date: Oct 11, 2021
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Johannesburg

Abstract

Umqombothi (a South African indigenous beer) is an important dietary beverage for many undernourished, low-income consumers in rural, semi-urban and urban areas. Umqombothi was brewed using optimal conditions earlier obtained and compared to the customary beer brew (CB) and mixed raw ingredients (RI). The products were evaluated for proximate compositions, minerals, amino acids, B-group vitamins, and sugar compounds. The optimised beer brew (OPB) was relatively higher in energy (165 kcal), crude protein (8.6%), and ash content (1.0%). The CB had the highest concentration of sodium (299.8 mg/kg), magnesium (1170.5 mg/kg), potassium (2993.8 mg/kg), and phosphorus (2100.7 mg/kg). Glutamic acid was the highest detected amino acid, with concentrations of 1.5 g/100 g, 1.5 g/100 g, and 1.6 g/100 g in the RI, CB, and OPB, respectively. The OPB contained a higher concentration of the two forms of vitamin B3, nicotinamide (0.2 µg/g) and nicotinic acid (0.7 µg/g) in comparison to the CB. The concentration of the antioxidant, mannitol, was 0.4 mg/g, 0.2 mg/g, and 2.0 mg/g in the RI, CB, and OPB respectively. Overall, OPB displayed a desirable nutritional profile compared to the CB.

Highlights

Local cultures are rich with the consumption of sorghum, millet, and wheat-based fermented beverages prepared on a household level or by small-scale industries [6]
Consumers find scientific studies to be the most credible sources of nutritional information about alcoholic beverages and this study investigated the nutritional compositions of optimally processed umqombothi in comparison to the nutritional compositions of mixed raw ingredients and a customary beer brew
A higher ash content was observed in the optimised beer brew (OPB) (1.0%) and customary beer brew (CB) (0.9%) compared to the mixed raw ingredients (RI) (0.7%)

Summary

Introduction

Local cultures are rich with the consumption of sorghum, millet, and wheat-based fermented beverages prepared on a household level or by small-scale industries [6]. African opaque beers such as umqombothi common to South Africa have been reported to contain significant amounts of B-group vitamins, amino acids, dietary fibre, minerals, protein, and carbohydrates [7,8,9]. Umqombothi’s high caloric density is a convenient, affordable, and readily consumable source of energy in communities where poverty and malnutrition are common [3,5].

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