Microorganisms Associated with the Production of a Nigerian Fermented Beverage, 'Agadagidi'

Aim: The microbial types, occurrence, loads and interactions were studied during the production of a Nigerian fermented beverage, ‘Agadagidi’, from overripe plantains.

Place and Duration of Study: Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. March- July, 2012.

Methodology: Isolation, enumeration and identification of bacteria and fungi were carried out by using standard pour plate, morphological, biochemical and physiological characterization methods. Antagonistic and mutualistic interactions among the microorganisms were investigated using agar well diffusion method.

Results: Bacillus subtilis, B. megaterium, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus species, Lactobacillus plantarum, Pediococcus acidilactici, L. fermentum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. fumigatus, Penicilium notatum, Trichoderma viridea Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida utilis and Geotrichum species were identified during the production of the beverage. The loads of total bacteria (TB), Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), enterobacteriaceae and fungi of the uncrushed plantain pulp were 2.6 × 10⁷ ± 0.05 cfu/ml, 6.7 × 10⁶ ± 0.05 cfu/ml, 3.8 × 10⁵± 0.05 cfu/ml and 2.0 × 10⁷ ± 0.05 cfu/ml. At 0 hour of fermentation, the loads of total bacteria, fungi and enterobacteriaceae increased. Then after, the total bacteria, enterobacteriaceae and fungi counts decreased to 2.0×10⁵ ± 0.11 cfu/ml, 1.3 × 10⁵± 0.11 cfu/ml and 1.03 × 10⁵ ± 0.05 cfu/ml respectively. In contrast, the LAB cell number increased to 8.6 × 10⁷ ± 0.1cfu/ml at the end (48 hours) of fermentation. The level of the microbial occurrence was 25 to 100% with B. subtilis, L. plantarum, L. mesenteroides, S. cerevisiae and C. utilis occurring as the highest. B. megaterium, E. spp., A. niger and T. viridea occurred least.  There was positive co-existence between Yeast and LAB. The yeasts and LAB exhibited antagonism against other bacteria.

Conclusion: The data obtained in this work has shown some functional microflora and their relationship during the production of “Agadagidi”. This information can contribute to a better understanding of the “Agadagidi” production process for a consistent quality beverage.