Characterization of lactic acid bacteria of quinoa, an ancestral andean grain

ROLLAN, G.; CARRIZO, S.L.; JUAREZ DEL VALLE, M.; VIGNOLO, G.; LEBLANC, JEAN GUY

Simposio; VIth Sourdough Symposium - Understanding natural complexity; 2015

The application of alternative non-conventional grains for the production of novel products is increasingly attracting bakery industries as well as consumers worldwide mainly due to the rising incidence of coeliac disease. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is an ancient Andean crop, gluten free (GF), with high nutritional value. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widely used as starter cultures for the sourdough (SD) fermentation. Unfortunately, compared to wheat, only a few studies have dealt with minor cereals and pseudocereals for producing and characterising GF sourdoughs. Previous studies allowed us to identify LAB isolated from quinoa sourdough (26) and grains (19) from Nortwestern Argentina (NOA). The aim of this study was to evaluate technological and functional properties: exopolysaccharides (EPS), capsular EPS (CPS), riboflavin (B2) and folate (B9) vitamins production (2) and amylolytic and phytase activities of LAB isolated from quinoa sourdough and grains. The results showed that only 6 strains from sourdough and 10 from grains had amylolitic activity. Twenty one strains from sourdough and 3 from grains produced capsular EPS and 18 strains from sourdough produced visible ropiness. From all the tested strains (45), 80% grew on a B2 free medium and produced different levels of this vitamin being Lactobacillus (L.) rhamnosus CRL1984 that produced the highest level of this vitamin (450 ± 10 ng/ml). Less than 50% of the isolated LAB grew in synthetic medium without B9, being L. rhamnosus CRL 1972 that produced the highest concentration (128 ± 11 ng/ml) of folates. Pediococcus pentosaceous CRL1980 showed the highest phytase activity from all the strains evaluated (38 ± 2 U/g).These results put in evidence the positive effects of autochthonous LAB isolated from quinoa for the development of healthy novel foods with higher quality and nutritional value.