Tchikoua Roger^1,, Ezo’o Ezo’o J.D¹, Essia Ngang J.J¹

Digue is a traditional food obtained from the addition of the paste of roasted peanuts in pumpkin juice obtained by spontaneous fermentation. This spontaneous fermentation unfortunately contributes to its alteration by molds and certain pathogenic bacteria. The aim of this work is to use lactic starters to inhibit the growth of certain pathogenic germs during controlled fermentation. A total of 24 lactic acid bacteria were isolated from the samples of Digue collected in the locality of Gamboura in the Far North of Cameroon. The screening allowed to retaining 02 strains of lactic acid bacteria for their best antimicrobial activities. The molecular identification of these two strains showed that they belong to the species Lactobacillus casei and Pediococcus acidilactici. The use of these two 02 lactic acid bacteria during the controlled fermentation of the Digue contaminated by Aspergillus M2, Aspergillus M3, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Salmonella enteritidis 155A showed that all the pathogen germs were totally inhibited by Lactobacillus casei after 21 days of fermentation. The same result was obtained with Pediococcus acidilactici on all molds and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. At the end of this study, it appears that, the lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus casei can be used to ensure the hygienic quality of the Digue after 21 days of fermentation.

lactic acid bacteria, Aspergillus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, antimicrobial activity