PROBIOTIC PROPERTIES OF BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM FERMENTED MANGO PICKLE ALSO KNOWN AS APPE MIDI TENDER MANGO PICKLE
Dr. H. Prathap Kumar Shetty, the Professor in Department of Food Science and Technology in Pondicherry University and his team published a journal on probiotic properties of bacteria isolated from fermented mango pickle ( Appemidi Tender Mango Pickle)
SPECIAL APPE MIDI TENDER MANGO PICKLE:
Mango brine pickle, traditional non oily, fermented brine pickle made from wild tender mangos:
In the west coastal and neighboring districts of Karnataka state, a unique pickle based on wild tender mangoes is prepared by placing layers of tender mangoes in between layers of raw crystal salt. After a period of few months, pickle is prepared by grinding set of spices including ajuine, red chilies and mustard in the salt water drained from the above mixture and mixing the shrunken mangos carefully with the ground spice mix. The pickle mix is poured into sterilized porcelain jars, sealed with lime and wrapped in cotton clothes.
The jar is placed in cool and dark place for 2-3 months for maturation. During this period the product gets colonized with salt tolerant and salt loving (halophilic) bacterial species. Microbiology of the above product is known partially. It is hypothesized that the product harbors rare salt tolerant microorganism which could be potentially probiotic.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE TRADITIONAL APPEMIDI TENDER MANGO PICKLE ( UPPINAKAYI RECIPE)
Several bacterial strains were isolated from the matured pickle and characterized for their potential probiotic characteristics at the Food Biotechnology Research group headed by Professor Halady Prathap Kumar Shetty, Pondicherry Central University. The research group also have shown that two of the bacterial strains showed valuable probiotic and functional properties including one of the strain showing anti colon cancer activity, which is being studied in depth currently. Based on the assessment, these two strains, namely, Bacillus licheniformis KT921419 and B. methylotrophicus KT921422 were found to be safe for probiotic applications.
The research group also shown that the above two probiotic strains were highly stable when added to the pickle and stored at room temperature for up to six months, showing that the strains can be used for developing the probiotic pickle as a functional food.
HOW PROFESSOR SHETTY BALANCES PROS AND CONS OF APPEMIDI PICKLE :
Professor Shetty is of the opinion that this mango pickle is a unique and healthy traditional food which is extremely good for health.
Regular consumption of this pickle gives inoculum of valuable health promoting functional probiotic bacteria to the gut. As this pickle is eaten in the uncooked form, friendly bacteria are taken in the live form and will promote health.
There are different varieties of tender mangos of which Appi midi variety, commonly available in interior Malnaad region of Karnataka state is the most superior and the pickle made of this is most sought after.
This is known for its taste and unique flavor. Some uninformed people raise the concern about the salt content of this pickle, especially for people with heart problem. However, the fact is, when someone consumes this pickle, they consume very little (less than one gram) and the salt contributed by this is negligible.
Professor Shetty says that it is in fact a very health option for everyone including the people with diabetes, heart issues and even children and elderly, where the friendly bacteria can in fact help them in improving their health.
Some people also are worried about white fungus like growth observed on the surface of the container as unsafe. However, the fact is that this white growth is not formed by the fungal spoilage but the spores produced by the friendly fermentation bacteria. One can just scrape this superficially and consume the pickle without any apprehension. If one want, this can also be preventing by putting a small quantity of any neutral oils such as olive oil on the top after the pickle is filled in the container.
One PhD student of Professor Shetty had done PhD on this pickle and published three high quality publications. The research group is currently working on further characterizing the anti-cancer strain Bacillus licheniformis KT921419.
FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS FROM THE LABORATORY OF PROFESSOR SHETTY:
1. Ragul K, Syiem IK. Sundar and Shetty PH (2017). Characterization of probiotic potential of Bacillus species isolated from a traditional brine pickle, Journal of Food Science and Technology, 54, 4473–4483.
Present study aimed at investigating the probiotic properties of bacteria isolated from fermented mango pickle. Non-hemolytic fermenting microbiota isolated from mango pickle was screened in vitro for their basic probiotic. They were also tested for their beneficial characters like cholesterol removal, bacterial adhesion to hydrocarbons, auto-aggregation, antimicrobial activity, b-galactosidase activity, exopolysaccharide production and adhesion to HT-29 cell line. Out of eight
isolates, PUFSTP35 (Bacillus licheniformis), PUFSTP38 (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) and PUFSTP39 (Bacillus subtilis) showed similar trend to Weissella cibaria (MTCC 9814) that was used as a reference strain for profiling probiotic properties. B. licheniformis PUFSTP35 from fermented mango pickle appear to be the most potential candidate for use as a beneficial probiotic.
2. Ragul K, Kandasamy S, Devi PB and Shetty PH (2020). Evaluation of functional properties of potential probiotic isolates from fermented brine pickle. Food Chemistry 311, 126057. (IF 2019: 5.680).
This study documents the antioxidative, anticancer and enzyme-inhibiting properties of potential probiotic Bacillus strains isolated from fermented brine mango pickle. Both intact cells and intracellular cell-free extracts from most of the strains exhibited prominent antioxidant activity.
These strains also exhibited potential inhibitory activities towards α-amylase, α-glucosidase and tyrosinase. Cell free supernatant of the strain Bacillus licheniformis KT921419 displayed strong anticancer activity against HT-29 colon cancer cell line.
3. Ragul K, Kandasamy S, Devi PB and Shetty PH (2019). Safety and Stability Assessment of Potential Probiotic Strains from Fermented Mango Brine Pickle, Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins. 12, 1039-1044. (IF 2019: 3.050).
Present study reports on the safety assessment of 8 prospective probiotic candidates. Parameters such as hydrogen peroxide production, histidine decarboxylase activity (production of histamine), DNase activity, and presence of the virulence factor genes were carried out to evaluate. Bacillus licheniformis KT921419 and B. methylotrophicus KT921422 were found to be safe based on the above assessment.
These two strains were further assessed for their ability to survive in the native
substrate (mango brine pickle) as single and mixed inoculums. Above strains maintained significant viability in mango brine pickle for a period of 6 months during storage at the room temperature. Results clearly proved the safety and stability of two of the potential probiotic strains, which can be further utilized in food applications under harsh conditions of high salt, low pH, and room temperature making these strains unique.