Fermentation technology enhances the nutritional quality of underutilized Bambara groundnut – a review

Abstract

Bambara groundnut (BG) offers great potential for sustainable food and nutritional security in the face of a growing population and changing climate. However, its utilization remains restricted by the hard-to-cook phenomenon of seed and the presence of anti-nutritional factors (ANFs). Fermentation has been reported to enhance the nutritional value and reduce ANFs in leguminous seeds. The induced fermentation technology exhibits greater control over the process parameters and ensures the fermented product's quality, reproducibility, and safe consumption. Hence, this review highlights the importance of fermentation technology in overcoming the challenges of processing hard-to-cook BG while retaining its nutrients and flavor. This paper also reviews the food safety measure and risks of consuming fermented BG.Future research on the fermented BG's nutrient digestibility should be of concern to unlock its full potential as human food or animal feed.

Local staples, and global solutions: optimizing the effect of traditional fermentation on heavy metals and mineral nutrients

“…For example, the rise of potassium content over fermentation days is linked to the enzymatic degradation of cellular components and the subsequent release of intracellular potassium (Knez et al , 2023). Ultimately, the mineral elements whose concentration increased exhibited strong adsorption to the dough matrix (Tee et al , 2023). Consequently, they were not leached out during the fermentation.…”