Biomaterial Database

African traditional fermented foods and probiotics. 2009

Kingsley C Anukam, and Gregor Reid

Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Western Ontario and Canadian Research and Development Centre for Probiotics, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada. kanukam@gmail.com

African traditional fermented foods remain the main source of nutrition for many rural communities in Africa. Although lactic acid bacteria are integral to many of these foods, little is known about the specific health benefits they confer or the properties of their strains. This mini-review explores the history of some African fermented foods and their microbial content and properties within the context of probiotic characteristics. Given the recent upsurge in probiotic research, recommendations are made on studies that could be performed with African fermented foods and their strains, with a view to improving the health of people in sub-Saharan Africa.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D005285	Fermentation	Anaerobic degradation of GLUCOSE or other organic nutrients to gain energy in the form of ATP. End products vary depending on organisms, substrates, and enzymatic pathways. Common fermentation products include ETHANOL and LACTIC ACID.	Fermentations
D005516	Food Microbiology	The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in food and food products. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms: the presence of various non-pathogenic bacteria and fungi in cheeses and wines, for example, is included in this concept.	Microbiology, Food
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000349	Africa	The continent south of EUROPE, east of the ATLANTIC OCEAN and west of the INDIAN OCEAN.
D001419	Bacteria	One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive.	Eubacteria
D058870	Food, Organic	Food that is grown or manufactured in accordance with nationally regulated production standards that include restrictions on the use of pesticides, non-organic fertilizers, genetic engineering, growth hormones, irradiation, antibiotics, and non-organic ingredients.	Natural Food,Organic Food,Organic Produce,Food, Natural,Foods, Natural,Foods, Organic,Natural Foods,Organic Foods,Produce, Organic
D019936	Probiotics	Live microbial DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS which beneficially affect the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance. Antibiotics and other related compounds are not included in this definition. In humans, lactobacilli are commonly used as probiotics, either as single species or in mixed culture with other bacteria. Other genera that have been used are bifidobacteria and streptococci. (J. Nutr. 1995;125:1401-12)	Probiotic