African fermented foods: overview, emerging benefits, and novel approaches to microbiome profiling

Naik

Food Prod Process and Nutr

et al. 2022

The health benefits associated with probiotics have increased their application in pharmaceutical formulations and functional food development. High production of probiotic biomass requires a cost-effective production method and nutrient media optimization. The biomass production of probiotics can be enhanced by optimizing growth parameters such as substrate, pH, incubation time, etc. For economical industrial production of probiotic biomass, it is required to design a new medium with low cost. Wastes from the food industries are promising components for the development of the low-cost medium. Industrial wastes such as cheese whey and corn steep liquor are excellent examples of reliable sources of nitrogen for the biomass production of probiotic bacteria. The increased yield of biomass reduced the cost of production. This review focuses on the importance of probiotic media for biomass production and its challenges. Graphical Abstract

Section: Future Prospectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Probiotics media: significance, challenges, and future perspective - a mini review

Naik

Food Prod Process and Nutr

et al. 2022

“…Various metabolites produce characteristic flavours and/or textures, the composition of which largely depends on the microbial community, the succession patterns and interactions within the community. Genes associated with acid and ethanol production, amino acid and sugar metabolism, lipid and protein lysis are often screened for when studying flavour development during the different stages of fermentations [ 3 , 13 , 183 , 190 , 191 , 192 ]. The identification of sugar, specifically lactose, metabolism-associated genes can further aid in determining the health promoting traits of a fermented food as the microbial breakdown of lactose to lactate during yoghurt fermentation helps alleviate problems linked with lactose consumption in lactose intolerant individuals [ 193 ].…”

Section: Applications Of Metagenomics In the Fermented Food Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The identification of sugar, specifically lactose, metabolism-associated genes can further aid in determining the health promoting traits of a fermented food as the microbial breakdown of lactose to lactate during yoghurt fermentation helps alleviate problems linked with lactose consumption in lactose intolerant individuals [ 193 ]. Fermented food microbial communities are also suggested to promote health through immuno-modulation, improving gut barrier functions, preventing pathogen colonization of the gut, neutralizing microbial toxins, and producing antimicrobials such as bacteriocins [ 3 , 183 , 187 , 191 , 194 , 195 ]. The genes associated with these health promoting functions are commonly screened for when understanding the health benefits of consuming fermented foods.…”

Section: Applications Of Metagenomics In the Fermented Food Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Traditionally, fermentations were carried out as a method of preservation to improve the microbiological safety while prolonging the shelf-life of food products, or for the exclusion of pathogens, when cold storage methods were not yet invented [ 1 ]. Over the years, however, fermented foods have been exploited for their health-promoting activities, and for their appeal to the consumer and industry, leading to their large-scale production [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The extent to which they have been commercialised depends on the region they are from, the techniques used, the availability of starter cultures used to start the fermentation process, along with resources available to research and industrialise the process [ 1 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Application of Metagenomics to Study Microbial Communities and Develop Desirable Traits in Fermented Foods

Srinivas

O’Sullivan

Cotter

et al. 2022

Foods

The microbial communities present within fermented foods are diverse and dynamic, producing a variety of metabolites responsible for the fermentation processes, imparting characteristic organoleptic qualities and health-promoting traits, and maintaining microbiological safety of fermented foods. In this context, it is crucial to study these microbial communities to characterise fermented foods and the production processes involved. High Throughput Sequencing (HTS)-based methods such as metagenomics enable microbial community studies through amplicon and shotgun sequencing approaches. As the field constantly develops, sequencing technologies are becoming more accessible, affordable and accurate with a further shift from short read to long read sequencing being observed. Metagenomics is enjoying wide-spread application in fermented food studies and in recent years is also being employed in concert with synthetic biology techniques to help tackle problems with the large amounts of waste generated in the food sector. This review presents an introduction to current sequencing technologies and the benefits of their application in fermented foods.

Trends and Innovations in Food Science

“…In this regard, an increasing number of fermented foods of Asian origin were analyzed with these techniques [75]. However, in Africa, whole-genome sequencing was initially used for the analysis and surveillance of foodborne pathogens [76].…”

Section: Optimization Of Cassava Fermentation Process: An Imperative ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of Cassava (Manihot esculentaCrantz.) Fermentation Processes for Food-Secured Twenty-First Century Africa

Fawole¹,

Kolapo²

2022

In mid-2021, Africa’s population was more than one billion three hundred and seventy million persons and this figure is expected to reach 2.5 billion people by 2050. On the basis of regional population, Eastern, Middle and Western Africa countries are bound to continue to experience rapid rates of population growth in the coming decades. Between 1960 and 2010, the urban population of Africa increased by a factor of 8. Based on 2018 United Nation’s projection, nearly 60% of African people will be living in urban areas by 2050. Of deep concerns are most Eastern, Middle, and Western African countries which will have their urban populations multiplied by a factor of 3 to 7. Similarly, the number of youth entering the labor force, as well as elderly, will continue to grow rapidly. The dramatic increase for food secured Africa occasioned by the sprawling African population, and the corresponding jobs required will be the biggest challenge most African countries will need to confront between now and 2050.The biggest challenges in this respect will be in Eastern, Middle and Western Africa where the number of youth will triple in the next 30 years. Currently, different cassava fermented products are staples in various countries of Africa. Specifically, in the past six decades, cassava has become a food security crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to many favorable reasons. Many of these African cassava fermented products are still traditionally produced by spontaneous fermentation making the quality and safety of products uncontrollable, in addition to their incapability of mass production. Modern techniques have taken fermentation beyond preservation such that production is optimized via starter culture fermentation. These are done with a view of generating desirable organoleptic properties with quality and safety in mind. Beside this, a shift from traditional to industrial processing of cassava fermented products will generate jobs and provide enough food that will be needed to feed the projected highly urbanized future Africa. This paper advocates for the urgent need for optimization of cassava fermentation processes in Africa. However, such optimization should be characterized with multiple cultures fermentation which will generate desirable organoleptic properties, nutrition, quality and safety. Additionally, the wealth of information from genomics and proteomic era should be harnessed for improved culture performance and activities so as to improve the safety, quality and nutrient composition of cassava fermented food products indigenous to Africa. The possible impacts of such shift on food security in the twenty-first century Africa, realization of inclusive growth, poverty reduction, and achievement of economic convergence are going to be huge. It is therefore imperative for various African governments and policymakers to integrate this suggested shift into their future developmental plans so as to avoid the impeding ‘demographic time-bomb’.