Traditional fermented rice beverage enriched with zinc, calcium and iron

Abstract

Fermentation is a processing method passed on to us by our ancestors. Today, benefit of fermentation goes beyond preservation with the knowledge of probiotic organisms offering benefits to our gut health .The overall objective of the study was to develop a fermented rice beverage based on a traditional South Indian practice, enriched with micronutrients . The product incorporated ingredients such as sesame seeds rich in micronutrients iron, calcium and zinc and pumpkin seeds as a source of zinc and calcium along with red rice. The beverage was prepared by fermenting red rice with water and curd as a starter culture for 12 hours as the control(T0). Roasted pumpkin seed and sesame seed powders were incorporated in formulations as variation 1(5%), variation 2(10%), variation 3(15%). It was observed in sensory evaluation that V1 was the best accepted variation. Physiochemical analysis of V1 reveals pH 4.16±0.005 and acidity 0.1±0.01%. Micronutrient content of enriched rice biotic beverage was 0.235±0.001 mg/100ml zinc, 0.375±0.001 mg/100ml iron and 20±0.1 mg/100ml calcium. Micronutrient content was significantly increased (p<0.05) in V1 .Isolation of bacteria showed presence of potential probiotics, 12x10⁶ CFU/ml in T0 and 31x10⁶CFU/ml in V1. The study concluded that an acceptable enriched rice biotic beverage was developed.