{"id":72319,"date":"2016-06-29T22:48:07","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T20:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/what-ancient-african-fermentation-techniques-reveal-about-probiotics-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2016-06-29T22:48:07","modified_gmt":"2016-06-29T20:48:07","slug":"what-ancient-african-fermentation-techniques-reveal-about-probiotics-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/what-ancient-african-fermentation-techniques-reveal-about-probiotics-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"What ancient African fermentation techniques reveal about probiotics | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

What ancient African fermentation techniques reveal about probiotics<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Betty Aneyumel from the Karamoja tribe rakes fermented millet to prepare a local alcoholic drink in Moroto, eastern Uganda.<\/span> Reuters\/Euan Denholm<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Humans may not know it, but we are full of lactic acid bacteria. It may sound scary, but these bacteria make up a significant component of any healthy person\u2019s gastrointestinal tract. They are responsible for fermenting food as it passes through the gut, particularly in the intestines.<\/p>\n

Fermentation perpetuates the growth of beneficial microbes called probiotics. These live microbes beneficially affect the host \u2013 in this case, people \u2013 by improving its intestinal microbial balance.<\/p>\n

Of course not all fermentation happens inside the body. It is also the oldest food preservation technique on record. Now scientists like myself are looking to fermentation techniques that have been practised all over Africa for centuries to better understand these important, healthy probiotics.<\/p>\n

Centuries of fermentation<\/h2>\n

Africans have long consumed fermented foods. The continent is the cradle of humankind, so this ancient technology may very likely have originated in Africa as cavemen started collecting and storing food.<\/p>\n

People in Africa usually ferment mainly cereal-based foods like sorghum, millet and maize; roots such as cassava; fruits; vegetables, though less commonly; and, to a lesser extent, meat and fish.<\/p>\n

Two of southern Africa\u2019s most popular fermented products are amasi<\/em>, or sour milk, and amahewu<\/em>, a non-alcoholic fermented maize drink. Amasi<\/em> is mainly produced by spontaneous fermentation of milk. Amahewu<\/em> is produced by spontaneous fermentation of cooked maize or sorghum meal. There\u2019s also incwancwa<\/em>, a sour porridge made from maize or sorghum gruel. This is allowed to spontaneously ferment to improve and develop palatability, flavour and nutrition. It\u2019s then cooked.<\/p>\n

Other popular fermented products from this region include umqombothi<\/em> or sorghum beer that is made from cooked maize or sorghum by wild yeast fermentation; a Zimbabwean traditional sorghum beer called chibuku<\/em>; and a trio of traditional Zambian non-alcoholic beverages called mabisi<\/em>, munkoyo<\/em> and chibwantu<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In Nigeria and elsewhere in West Africa, ogi<\/em>, iru<\/em> and gari <\/em>are three traditional fermented foods that are still produced in households today. Ogi<\/em> is a fermented product of cooked maize or sorghum or millet grains. Iru<\/em> is a fermented product of African locust bean, and gari<\/em> is a fermented cassava product. Gari<\/em> is made by peeling fresh roots and grating them into mash before putting them into sacks for fermentation. Borde<\/em> and shamita<\/em> are two of Ethiopia\u2019s important traditional fermented beverages. They\u2019re produced through overnight fermentation of certain cooked cereals.<\/p>\n

These foods and drinks are treasured: both for nutritional purposes and cultural practices. African families still provide amahewu<\/em> and umqombothi<\/em> during ceremonies like traditional weddings as a treat for their guests. The non-alcoholic foods and beverages are used for weaning children and to refresh adults.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s far more to these fermented foods than a good meal. They offer scientists some important insights into just how such foods encourage the growth of probiotics and how this keeps people healthy. Africans\u2019 ancestors were onto something \u2013 and the continent\u2019s increasingly urban populations should follow their example.<\/p>\n

Probiotics\u2019 major benefits<\/h2>\n

The probiotic microbes associated with fermented foods are hugely beneficial. They degrade anti-nutritional substances like mycotoxins and phytic acid.<\/p>\n

The abundant probiotics in fermented food also improve digestion and the production of nutrients, like vitamins. Probiotic microbes inhibit the growth of food spoilers and can both prevent and treat diarrhoea. They inhibit tooth decay, can help to manage some types of diabetes and some have been proved to reduce \u201cbad\u201d cholesterol.<\/p>\n

It stands to reason that all of these benefits helped African communities who didn\u2019t have access to antibiotics. Just because we now live in a world where antibiotics are increasingly available doesn\u2019t mean the old ways are irrelevant.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

Paul Mokoena does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small>
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Read more on The Conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Join the fun:<\/strong> Add Your event<\/a> | Submit a Press Release<\/a> | Add your listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What ancient African fermentation techniques reveal about probiotics: Betty Aneyumel from the Karamoja tribe rakes fermented millet to prepare a local alcoholic drink in Moroto, eastern Uganda. Reuters\/Euan Denholm Humans may not know it, but we are full of lactic acid bacteria. It may sound scary, but these bacteria make up a significant component of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3678,3050,8099,8890,12691,14843,8019,14842],"class_list":{"0":"post-72319","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-about","8":"tag-african","9":"tag-ancient","10":"tag-conversation","11":"tag-fermentation","12":"tag-probiotics","13":"tag-reveal","14":"tag-techniques","15":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72319\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}