PROJECT SUMMARY
|
AMU Project code |
EXT/ITA/ERD/02/2013 |
|
Project status |
Ongoing |
|
Acronym |
IEP |
|
Project phase |
I |
|
Partner(s)/ country(ies) |
Italy |
|
AMU coordinating office(s) |
Research Directorate Office |
|
Project type |
Research |
|
Project location |
Arba Minch University (Laboratory activity) |
|
Target Communities |
Enset growing community |
|
Website |
|
|
Project coordinator |
Tesfaye Habtemariam (PhD) |
|
Project manager |
Addisu Fekadu (PhD) |
|
Total project budget (€) |
45,000 |
|
Project start |
01-Jan-2021 |
|
Project end |
31-Dec-2023 |
|
Contact person (e-mail) |
Dr. Addisu Fekadu (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) |
|
Project Management Office
|
Office of the Director for Grant and Collaborative Project Management: Dr. Thomas Torora (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) |
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is an important food security crop for over 20 million Ethiopian people after fermentation into kocho. The fermentation process has hardly been investigated and is prone to optimization. Kocho fermented with the conventional method takes long time and is low in quality. The aim of this project is to examine the interaction between Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Lactobacillus plantarum as candidates for safe and quality enset fermentation. In our previous work, we have already characterized several lactic acid bacteria species based on their suitability to ferment enset. Three promising lactic acid bacteria species were identified and evaluated in distinct fermentations. However, interaction of each of these lactic acid bacteria was not examined. Therefore, the focus of this research project will be: (i) to investigate the interaction between Lactobacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides during enset fermentation; (ii) to determine the nutrient content and volatile compounds produced during co-culture fermentation.
PROJECT RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Andeta, A.F., Workineh., D., and Tesfaye, G., (2022). Unravelling the effects of lactobacillus plantarum and leuconostoc mesenteroides co-inoculation on physicochemical and microbial dynamics during enset fermentation (Manuscript under preparation)