Bacteriocins producing lactic acid bacteria isolated from Boza, a traditional fermented beverage from Balkan Peninsula – from isolation to application

Abstract

Boza’s origin dates back to the ancient populations that lived in Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The preparation formula was taken by the Ottomans and spread over the countries they conquered. Boza is a low-alcohol beverage produced from the fermentation of barley, oats, millet, maize, wheat or rice. The cooked cereal is strained to remove most of the solids, sugar is added to taste and inoculated with a starter culture, either from yogurt or sourdough. The sludge is fermented at 30o C for 24 h, cooled and kept refrigerated for 3-5 days. Although a number Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, Oenococcus and Weissella spp. have been isolated from boza, only a few papers addressed the selection of starter cultures. LAB (lactic acid bacteria), and presumably yeast, can produce a number of hidrosoluble vitamins and thus increases the nutritional value of the product. Many of the LAB isolated from boza produce antimicrobial compounds, including bacteriocins, increasing the shelf life of the product and possibly demonstrate health benefits. In this work the microbiological properties of boza, isolation and characterization of the bacteriocinogenic LAB is discussed and highlighting this with potential probiotic and health promoting properties.