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Fermentation Characteristics of Lactobacilli in Okra ( Hibiscus esculentus ) Juice
Author(s) -
KOTZEKIDOU P.,
ROUKAS T.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.1987.tb06647.x
Subject(s) - mucilage , fermentation , food science , sucrose , lactic acid , lactic acid fermentation , chemistry , lactobacillus , acetic acid bacteria , acetic acid , biology , bacteria , botany , biochemistry , genetics
Okra juice was fermented with nine strains of homofermentative and ten strains of heterofermentative lactobacilli as well as one commercial culture to study the metabolic activities of these cultures in an effort to select organisms for use in okra fermentation. During a 24 hr fermentation one Lactobacillus cellobiosus strain converted 29.7% of the mucilage, utilized 85.7% of the reducing sugars and 90.3% of the sucrose decreasing the pH value to 3.65. During the same period seven other strains converted from 20.2–26.8% of the mucilage, 78–98% of the reducing sugars and 75–80% of the sucrose giving a pH value between 3.45 and 4.23. All strains showed considerable variation in the ability to produce lactic acid, acetic acid and ethanol, and they all possessed low levels of lactate dehydrogenase activity.