Significance of Fermented Food in Nutrition and Food Science

Available Online J. Sci. Res. 6 (2), 373-386 (2014) Publications JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH www.banglajol.info/index.php/JSR Significance of Fermented Food in Nutrition and Food Science M. N. Hasan1,*, M. Z. Sultan2, and M. Mar-E-Um3 1 Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh 2 Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh 3 Food and Nutrition Department, Khulna City Corporation Women's College, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh Received 8 October 2013, accepted in final revised form 2 April 2014 Abstract Fermenting foods can make poorly digested, reactive foods into health giving foods. The process of fermentation destroys many of the harmful microorganisms and chemicals in foods and adds beneficial bacteria. These bacteria produce new enzymes to assist in the digestion. Foods that benefit from fermentation are soy products, dairy products, grains, and some vegetables. The beneficial effect of fermented food which contains probiotic organism consumption includes: improving intestinal tract health, enhancing the immune system, synthesizing and enhancing the bioavailability of nutrients, reducing symptoms of lactose intolerance, decreasing the prevalence of allergy in susceptible individuals, and reducing risk of certain cancers. This article provides an overview of the different starter cultures and health benefits of fermented food products, which can be derived by the consumers through their regular intake. Keywords: Fermentation; Fermented food; Starter cultures; Probiotics; Nutritional benefits. © 2014 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsr.v6i2.16530 J. Sci. Res. 6 (2), 373-386 (2014) 1. Introduction Fermentations occur when microorganisms consume susceptible organic substrates as part of their own metabolic processes. Such interactions are fundamental to the decomposition of natural materials, and to the ultimate return of chemical elements to the soil and air without which life could not be sustained. Currently the term fermentation refers to breakdown of carbohydrate and carbohydrate like materials under either anaerobic or aerobic conditions. The term fermented foods is used to describe a special class of food products characterized by various kinds of carbohydrate breakdown in the presence of probiotic microorganisms; but seldom is carbohydrate the only constituent acted upon [1]. * Corresponding author: 374 Significance of Fermented Food Most fermented foods contain a complex mixture of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and so on; undergoing modification simultaneously, or in some sequence, under the action of a variety of microorganisms and enzymes. In addition to the roles of fermentation in preservation and providing variety to the diet, there are further important consequences of fermentation. Several of the end products of food fermentation, particularly acids and alcohols, are inhibitory to the common pathogenic microorganisms that may find their way into foods, e.g. inability of Clostridium botulinum to grow and produce toxin at pH values of ≤4.6. When microorganisms ferment food constituents, they yield energy in the process and increase in numbers. To the extent that food constituents are oxidized, their remaining energy potential for human decreases [1]. Compounds that are completely oxidized by fermentation to such end products as CO2 and water retain no further energy value. Some of the beneficial effect of fermented food which contains probiotic organism consumption include: (i) improving intestinal tract health; (ii) enhancing the immune system, synthesizing and enhancing the bioavailability of nutrients; (iii) reducing symptoms of lactose intolerance, decreasing the prevalence of allergy in susceptible individuals; and (iv) reducing risk of certain cancers. The mechanisms by which probiotics exert their effects are largely unknown, but may involve modifying gut pH, antagonizing pathogens through production of antimicrobial compounds, competing for pathogen binding and receptor sites as well as for available nutrients and growth factors, stimulating immunomodulatory cells, and producing lactase. The fermenting organisms include LAB (Lactic acid bacteria) such as Leuconostoc, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Aerococcus and Pediococcus spp. [2, 3]. The yeasts isolated are mainly of the species Saccharomyces, Kluyeromyces and Debaryomyces [4]. Moulds have been used mainly in milk and cheese fermentation and include Penicillium, Mucor, Geotrichium, and Rhizopus species [5, 6]. Some of the microorganisms isolated from fermented food are, however, yet to be identified. In all the foods and beverages examined, LAB is the dominant microorganisms, and therefore, lactic acid fermentation is considered as the major contributor to the beneficial characteristics observed in fermented foods. The numerous fermented food products in Asia can be categorized into five groups: (1) fermented soybean products, (2) fermented fish products, (3) fermented vegetable products, (4) fermented bread and porridges, and (5) alcoholic beverages. Probiotics are involved in all of these fermentations to a varying extent, having either positive or negative effects on the eventual product. Nutrition is known to influence the heath and can thereby modulate resistance to infection. So, our objective of this study is to assess the influence of a fermented food in health of the volunteers. 2. Health Benefit of Fermented Food 2.1. Probiotics Probiotics are defined as „live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host‟ [7, 8]. Efficacy of probiotics on survival, M. N. Hasan et al. J. Sci. Res. 6 (2), 373-386 (2014) 375 growth, biochemical changes and energy utilization performance is immense [9]. Probiotics may be consumed either as food components or as non-food preparations. Probiotic organisms are sold mainly in fermented foods as starter organisms, and dairy products play a predominant role as carriers of probiotics. These foods are well suited to promoting the positive health impact in lactose intolerance, Urinary tract infections in woman, gut function, Traveler‟s diarrhea, infantile diarrhea, antibiotic associated diarrhea, helicobacter pylori gastritis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and colorectal cancer (CRC), immune function, infant health, atopic disease and atopic dermatitis for probiotics [7]. Health benefits of probiotics have been shown in Fig. 1 [11]. When probiotics are added to fermented foods, several factors must be considered that may influence the ability of the probiotics to survive in the product and become active when entering the consumer‟s gastrointestinal tract. These factors include 1) the physiologic state of the probiotic organisms added (whether the cells are from the logar (...truncated)