Effect of initial bacteria cells number and fermentation time on increasing nutritive value of sago flour

Abstract

Indonesia is the largest sago feedstock in the world. There are about 2 millions ha sago forest that approximately half of the world's sago forest is present in Indonesia. Naturally, sago spreads widely in Papua, while semi-cultivation is in Maluku, Sulawesi, Borneo, and Sumatra. The species sago (Metroxylon sago) was used in this study. It has a relatively high starch content (95.99%) with low amylose content (20.61%) and low protein content (1.63%). Modified sago flour is a product from sago flour that modified with fermentation to increase the nutritional value of the sago flour. It can be used as a gluten free flour and low-calorie food products. The bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum) was used in the fermentation. However, the color of the modified sago flour is off-white, if the fermentation time is too long. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effect of fermentation time and initial bacteria cells number on increasing nutritive value of sago flour. The variables used were fermentation times (12, 24, and 36 h) and initial bacteria cells number (7 x 1010, 7 x 1011, 1.05 x 1012, and 3,05 1012 cells of L. plantarum). The result showed that amylose and protein content increased from 20.61% to 33,06% and from 1.41% to 4.11%, respectively, with bacterial variables of 3,5 x 1012 and fermentation time of 36 h.