Publications scientifiques
A T Edzili Awono
SANDRINE AIMÉE YOUTE FANCHE
Journal of Microbiology Research
Uncontrolled fermentation is a method of transformation which can expose food to risks of contamination by moulds and mycotoxins. Food contaminations represent a potential threat to the health of consumers. In the far North of Cameroun, Iassa obtained by spontaneous fermentation of Hibiscus sabdariffa grains belongs to this food category. This study was aimed at preserving the safety quality of Iassa against fungal growth during fermentation by using lactic acid bacteria (LAB). To carry out this work, moulds and LAB were first isolated from Iassa samples collected in the locality of Gamboura (Cameroon). This was followed by the production of Iassa at the laboratory which was inoculated with moulds and LAB, and the entire batch was left to ferment for 120 hours at 25°C. The antifungal activity of LAB and titratable acidity were evaluated during fermentation. The results showed that, Iassa is a favourable food to the development of moulds. High contamination of this product by moulds of the genus Aspergillus and Fusarium were observed. Generally, this contamination ranged from 2.9Log10CFU/g to 6.9Log10CFU/g. Among the isolated LAB, Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus paracasei were identified as the best LAB with good antifungal activity. Lactobacillusbrevisinhibited completely the growth of Aspergillus in Iassa after 96 hours of fermentation. During this assay, a high growth of Lactobacillus brevis varying between 12.0 and 13.3 Log10CFU/g was also observed. Unlike Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus paracasei produced a high quantity of acidity evaluated at 0.9%. From this work, these bacteria can be used as a LAB starter to ensure safety of the Iassa against moulds after 96 hours of fermentation.
