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ABSTRACT

Fresh vegetables have a very short shelf-life since these are subjected to physiological and rapid microbial spoilage and in some cases contamination by pathogens also. Processing or modification of raw foods by using food processing methods and techniques is needed to meet the challenges of food security and safety, nutrition demand and availability of food. Fermentation is one of the important methods of preservation of vegetables. It is one of the oldest means of food preservation and reduces the risk of food borne diseases and food spoilage. Sauerkraut is a traditional fermented vegetable product and is prepared by the fermenting salted cabbage by naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria. Kimchi is another such products made by lactic fermentation of radish and other vegetables. Carrot when fermented similarly gives 'kangi', a beverage very popular in several parts of India. In this review is focussed on the lactic acid fermentation of vegetables.

Keywords: Fermentation, food, spoilage, vegetable, microbes, lactic acid bacteria, sauerkraut, preservation

Fermentation is a metabolic process that converts sugar to acids, gases, or alcohol by the microorganisms or their enzyme. It occurs in yeast and bacteria, and also in oxygen-starved muscle cells, as in the case of lactic acid fermentation. Fermentation is also used more broadly to refer to the bulk growth of microorganisms on a growth medium, often with the goal of producing a specific chemical product. Louis Pasteur is often remembered for his insights into fermentation and its microbial causes. Adams (1990) described fermentation as a form of energy-yielding microbial metabolism in which an organic substrate, usually a carbohydrate, is incompletely oxidized and an organic carbohydrate acts as the electron acceptor. Thus, fermentation is a biological activity where sugar is converted into alcohol, catalyzed by microorganism or their involve its conservation into enzyme. Glucose is considered as a typical substrate for fermentation as it is most widely distributed sugar and the most bacteria and yeast can utilize it. The initial step in the metabolism of most other substrates intermediate products of glycolytic pathway. Pyruvic acid, during fermentation, instead of getting converted into acetyl CoA entering into the end product of fermentation thus play a key role in fermentation (Lehninger, 1990).

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