Cocoa Fermentation from Agnéby-Tiassa: Biochemical Study of Microflora

Abstract

Abstract:Cocoa beans fermentation is an absolute requirement for the full development of chocolate flavor precursors. Here, we investigated the dynamic of microbial flora succession taking place in Agnéby-Tiassa cocoa fermentation. The results show that the first time of fermentation, the bacterial ecology quickly underwent changes characterized by the successional growth of lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, acetic acid bacteria and Bacillus. The dominance of Lactic acid bacteria observed at the onset of process was represented by a large proportion of homofermentative strains (98.88%). Besides, all the LAB strains were able to metabolize glucose, fructose, sucrose and a proportion of 71.35% exhibit capacity to degrade citric acid. Yeasts population was characterized by a large diversity based on their carbon profile and their ability to produce pectinolytic enzymes (13.55%) essential to degrade pectin of cocoa pulp. Furthermore, acetic acid bacteria were dominated by Acetobacter genus which represent 83.22% of AAB isolated. The later stages of fermentation were dominated by the presence of Bacillus strains which possess technological potentially as pectinolytic activity, capacity to metabolize citric acid and acidification capacity. Our results show that microflora isolated in this cocoa region producer behave differently and emphasize a microbial diversity existing in cocoa fermentation of Agnéby-Tiassa area.

Selection Of Lactic Acid Bacteria as Starter Culture for Cocoa Fermentation (Theobroma Cacao L.)

“…LAB was isolated according to Kouame et al (2015) method. The samples of beans were taken daily (0, 24, 48, and 72 h) for analyses.…”

Microbial Diversity and Contribution to the Formation of Volatile Compounds during Fine-Flavor Cacao Bean Fermentation

“…Numerous researchers have characterized the microbial diversity of cacao bean fermentation processes by culture-dependent and next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods, such as metabarcoding sequencing. NGS stands out because of its sensitivity in community analysis and throughput [ 13 ], and was able to reveal a defined succession of yeasts, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and acetic acid bacteria (AAB) [ 7 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ] during the cacao fermentation process. The microbiota of cacao bean fermentation and their metabolic activities can influence the production of volatile compounds that are related to fruity and floral aromas, as well as the removal of undesirable characteristics, such as astringency and bitterness [ 3 , 20 , 21 ].…”