Isolation and characterization of microorganisms associated with the traditional sorghum fermentation for production of sudanese kisra.

Sorghum flour obtained from Sudan was mixed with water in a 1:2 (wt/vol) ratio and fermented at 30 degrees C for 24 h. The bacterial populations increased with fermentation time and reached a plateau at approximately 18 h. At the end of 24 h, sorghum batter pH had dropped from 5.95 to 3.95 and the batter had a lactic acid content of 0.80%. The microbial population during the 24 h of fermentation consisted of bacteria (Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus confusus, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus sp., Erwinia ananas, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter cloacae), yeasts (Candida intermedia and Debaryomyces hansenii), and molds (Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp., and Rhizopus sp.). P. pentosaceus was the dominant microorganism at the end of the 24-h fermentation. When three consecutive fermentations using an inoculum from the previous fermentation were carried out, the bacterial population increase plateaued at 9 h. The microbial populations in these fermentations were dominated by P. pentosaceus.