Bio-functional properties and storage study of ‘Chubitchi’- a fermented rice beverage of Garo Hills, Meghalaya

Abstract

In this study, an ethnic fermented rice beverage- ‘Chubitchi’ from Garo Hills region of Meghalaya was closely monitored and was improvised with well characterised Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces strains to develop a product similar to it under laboratory conditions. A comparative analysis between the traditionally made and laboratory made rice beverage was made to assess their storage period and bio-functional properties till 40 days. During the organoleptic evaluation based on the scores of all sensory attributes, the laboratory made rice beverage were acceptable till day 30 and the traditionally made rice beverage was acceptable till day 20. A decrease in pH and increase in acidity (%) with increase in fermentation time was observed for both rice beverage types. An initial rise in ethanol percentage was also witnessed with increase in fermentation time till day 20 for both the rice beverage types. The ACE inhibitory activity of laboratory prepared Chubitchi increased from 22.64% at day 0 to 86.87% at day 20 followed by a reduction at day 30 (68.04%).  The antioxidative activity was maximum at day 0 (95.18%) followed by a decrease at day 10 (81.59%). The laboratory prepared Chubitchi showed rapid reduction in the polyphenol content and high antimicrobial activity against major test organisms during the storage study. The results show longer storage period and higher ACE-inhibition, antioxidative, total phenol reduction and antimicrobial activity of the laboratory prepared Chubitchi against the traditional made. This study could further provide the rural tribes of Garo Hills with well-defined novel starter cultures as well as optimized procedure for rice beverage development with numerous health benefits.