Mustafa A. Gassem

A microbiological study of Sobia: a fermented beverage in the Western province of Saudi Arabia

Sobia is a traditional fermented beverage prepared from wheat and malt flours in the Western province of Saudi Arabia. Fourteen samples of sobia were collected from Makkah Al-Mukarrmah (Western province) and from Riyadh (Central province). Samples were examined microbiologically for total bacterial counts, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and moulds as well as coliforms. Titratable acidity and pH were also analysed. The results revealed that sobia samples had high total bacterial and lactic acid bacteria counts that ranged from 4.17 to 8.09 log c.f.u./ml and from 4.01 to 8.19 log c.f.u./ml respectively. Yeasts and moulds counts ranged from 3.96 to 5.87 log c.f.u./ml. The coliform count was from 0.67 to 3.84 log c.f.u./ml. Acidity expressed as percent lactic acid ranged from 0.04 to 0.30%, while the pH of the samples ranged from 3.37 to 5.53. Identification of microorganisms in sobia revealed the presence of lactic acid bacteria, coliforms, yeasts and moulds. Lactic acid bacteria consisted of Lactobacillus cellobiosus (26.8%), L. buchneri (17.9%), L. plantarum (8.9%), L. brevis (23.2%), L. delbrueckii. delbrueckii (8.9%), Leuconostoc lactis (8.9%), and Pediococcus pentosaceus (5.4%). Coliforms consisted of Klebsiella pneumoniae (25.8%), Enterobacter aerogenes (6.1%), E. sakazakii (33.3%), E. cloacae (19.7%), and Serratia liquefaciens (3%). Yeasts comprised Saccharomyces cerevisiae (27.6%), Candida tropicalis (26.3%), C. ciferrii (13.1%), C. guilliermondii (13.1%), C. lipolytica (6.58%), Kloeckera japonica (13.1%), and Rhodotorula rubra (1.3%). All moulds were Penicillium spp.

Black cumin-fortified flat bread: formulation, processing, and quality

Black cumin (BC) (Nigella sativa) defatted meal was added at 5, 10, and 15% to whole wheat flour (WWF) in flat bread formulation so that to deliver daily intake of zinc, potassium, phosphorous, iron, and copper as well as high protein content. BC is known for its anticancer activities, immune stimulation, anti-inflammation, anti-hypertensive, anti-microbial, anti-parasitic, antioxidant and hypoglycemic. Although the water holding capacity of BC was twice as much as WWF, BC has minimal effect on the water absorption of WWF. The farinograph mixing tolerance index of the WWF dough has increased up to 133%, whereas dough stability has decreased by 41%. The extensibility of the control dough was not significantly (P?0.05) affected by BC, but the resistance to extension was reduced. The higher amylograph gelatinisation temperature indicates delay on starch granule swelling, but the peak viscosity dropped as a function of BC content, while the final viscosity was unchanged. By consuming one piece of this bread, ...

Physico-chemical properties of sobia: A traditional fermented beverage in western province of Saudi Arabia

Sobia samples (14 samples) were collected from Makkah Al-Mukarrmah (Western province) and from Riyadh (Central province). Chemical (moisture, protein, fat, ash carbohydrate, energy, sugars, and ethanol) and physical (total soluble solids, total solids, viscosity, density, refractive index (RI), and specific gravity) properties of the sobia samples were studied. The moisture, protein, ash carbohydrate, and energy contents were found to be in the range of 82.33% to 89.23%, 0.26% to 0.63%, 0.023% to 0.106%, 9.95% to 17.22%, and 41.25 kcal to 70.54 kcal, respectively, and no fat was detected. Glucose and fructose were present in all samples except sample 3. Samples 1 to 10 contained sucrose in the range of 53.93 to 130.89 g/l, while samples 11 to 14 had no sucrose. Only four samples (1, 2, 9, and 10) contained maltose. The ethanol content in fresh samples ranged from 0.00 to 1.00 g/l, and after a week of storage at refrigerator temperature (3-5 C) ethanol content increased in all samples with samples 5 and 6 having the highest ethanol content of 4.24 and 4.54 g/l, respectively. Total soluble solids (Brix ), total solids (%), viscosity (cP), density, RI, and specific gravity values of sobia were found to be in the range of 6.83 to 15.10, 7.60 to 15.40, 1.47 to 4.39, 1.033 to 1.063, 1.3429 to 1.3559, and 1.0303 to 1.0600, respectively.

Microbiological and chemical quality of a traditional salted-fermented fish (Hout-Kasef) product of Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia

The Hout-Kasef is traditional salted fermented fish product of natural fermentation of salted mullet fish of coastal area of Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. The present study was carried out to investigate the microbiological and chemical characteristic of Hout-Kasef. A total of twenty-four salted fish samples were purchased from fish market in Jazan and Abu-Arish at different times of the year. The microbial studies of salted-fermented fish revealed a total bacterial count ranging from 2.81 to 4.72 Log10 CFU/g, yeast and mold counts ranging from 0.48 to 3.14 Log10 CFU/g, total staphylococci count 2.71–3.85 Log10 CFU/g, halophile bacteria count 3.26–5.14 Log10 CFU/g, and coliforms count <1 Log10 CFU/g. However, pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio spp., Campylobacter spp. and Yersinia species were not detected. The major bacteria species isolated and identified from the salted fermented fish were Bacillus Subtilus, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus pumilus, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus hominis, Staphylococcus xylosus, Staphylococcus saprophticus and Staphylococcus cahnii subsp cahnii. The chemical analysis of salted fermented fish showed high content of moisture (47.96%), protein (25.71%), ash (19.6%) and salt (15.19%) but low contents of lipid (7.25%). The salted-fermented fish also showed high level of total volatile basic nitrogen (78.86 mg/100 gm sample) and thiobarbutric acid number (32.32 mg malonaldehyde/kg) with a pH value of pH 6.3. Finally, this study showed the presence of gram positive and gram negative bacteria in the fish product. The predominant microorganisms found were Bacillus and Staphylococcus spp. The fish product had high content of salt and TVB-N levels.

Effect of fermentation by selected lactic acid bacteria on the chemical composition and fatty acids of camel milk

Fresh pasteurised whole camel milk was inoculated with 5% of Streptococcus thermophilus 37, Lactobacillus delbrueckii spp. bulgaricus CH2 and Lactococcus lactis and incubated at 43°C in a circulating water bath for 6 hours. The results showed that fermentation of the camel did not affect in moisture, protein and total solids contents significantly. Fermentation process significantly increased fat and ash content, while lactose content significantly decreased. Fatty acids analysis revealed that fermentation significantly increased the content of palmitic, oleic, myristic, capric, caprylic, lauric and linolenic, while palmitoleic acid and arachidic acid were significantly decreased. The stearic and linoleic acids content were not affected by fermentation process.