Development of a sorghum malt-based nutrient enriched probiotic bushera

Abstract

Obushera is a popular sorghum or millet based fermented beverage from western Uganda that is used or infant feeding. This beverage is generally low in protein and in micronutrients such as vitamin A and iron. This study evaluated the suitability of using different protein sources (soy, chia, grain amaranth and white beans)in enhancing the protein content of Obushera. The effect of varying sugar concentrations (5-10%) and fortificant on the acceptability of Obushera was also evaluated.Obushera was produced by fermenting a pasteurized slurry of sorghum malt, protein source, fortificant and sugar with Lb. rhamnosus yoba at 30o C for 48 hours. The progress of fermentation was determined by measuring pH and titratable acidity. Consumer acceptability was determined by using a sensory panel. Nutritional composition was determined using standard methods. Lb. rhamnosus yoba grew and lowered the pH of Obushera from 5.7 to < 4.0 and increased the acidity from 0.21 to 0.6 in 48 hours. Chia, white beans and grain amaranth reduced the overall acceptability of Obushera (p <0.05). Soy enriched Obushera was as acceptable as pure sorghum Obushera (p>0.05).Adding soy up to 75% in the soy-sorghum base did not significantly affect the acceptability of Obushera (p>0.05).Obushera with 7% and 10% sugar was more acceptable than that with 5% sugar (p<0.05). Addition of fortificant significantly (p<0.05) reduced the acceptability for taste but did not affect the overall acceptability. Nutrient enriched probiotic Obushera contained 18.65% carbohydrates, 1.24% protein, 3.12 mg/100 g iron, 0.87 mg/ 100 g of vitamin A, 0.06% fat and 407 Kcal /100 g This study showed that acceptable nutrient enriched probiotic Obushera can be produced by using up to 75% soy flour in the substrate and fortificant. The resultant product had twice as much protein as conventional Obushera which contains 0.56% of the protein content and the iron levels increased from 0.48mg/ 100g to 3.12mg/ 100g (Meeme, 2016).