Diversity and the role of yeast in spontaneous cocoa bean fermentation from Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Yeast is one of the microbial group which isrolein the process of cocoa spontaneously fermentation. The objective of this study was to determinate and to know the diversity of yeast that roles on cocoa bean fermentation. Yeast was isolated by pour plate method from cocoa bean that was naturally fermented by a cocoa farmer in Kolaka District, Southeast Sulawesi using yeast mannitol agar (YMA) media. Yeast was characterized and identified using phenotypic characters based on numeric-phenetic analysis. Yeast isolates applied to cocoa bean to determine its role in cocoa bean fermentation. The result was obtained seven isolates the dominant yeast during cocoa bean fermentation in Kolaka District, Southeast Sulawesi. The result of numerical-phenetic analysis based on phenotypic characters to seven yeast isolates showed that 1 isolates (Klk1) identic with Candida krusei. Three isolates (Klk4, Klk5 and Klk7) identic with Candida tropicalis, one isolate (Klk2) identic with Saccharomycopsis fibuligera, one isolate (Klk3) identic with Kloeckera sp. and one isolate (Klk6) identic with Saccharomyces cerevisae.The result also showed that fermentation of cocoa with seeding of yeast inoculums served to increase the quality of cocoa beans than spontaneous fermentation. Therefore, the seven yeast isolates potentially be used as an inoculum to improve the cocoa quality.