Abstract:
Traditionally, fermented food and beverages are prepared by adding a mixture of plant residues as a starter or source of microbes. Most of the conventional fermented foods use a local starter which contains a mixture of herbs or old ferment or otherwise cereal dust-coated tablet. In this study, we have made an attempt to prepare a rice-based fermented food with the herbal starter (0.5% w/w) of Elephantopus scaber L. rhizome, and also examined its microbial and nutrient profiles. The food product is fortified with organic acid and titratable acidity of 0.58% and also contained an excellent source of microbes (LAB and Bifidobacterium sp.). The fermented food contains significant amount of fat, protein, minerals, vitamins, oligosaccharide, unsaturated fatty acids (ω3, ω6, ω7 and ω9) and a pool of free amino acids. The presence of phytochemical contents in the fermented rice was also exhibited significant effects against commercially available free radicals (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and OH-radicals). Thus, food-grade microbes containing newly formulated fermented food would provide essential macro-and micro-nutrients to the individuals and convey the sustainability of good health. Therefore, the mentioned plant part would be used as an effective starter for aiding rice-based food products.
