Starter Culture Optimization for Cereal- and Millet-Based Fermented Beverages
Abstract: This study compared natural starter cultures with a standardized mixed starter system for fermentation of white rice, red rice, finger millet, pearl millet, sorghum, and barley. Natural starters were prepared using processed cereal or millet flour, curd as microbial inoculum, and sugar as an additional fermentable substrate. Curd concentrations of 1, 5, and 10% combined with 1 or 2% sugar were evaluated at 37 °C. A mixed starter comprising equal proportions of presumptive culture components corresponding to Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, and Bifidobacterium was evaluated at 3, 4, and 5% inoculum levels. Natural starter performance was substrate dependent. The combination of 5% curd and 2% sugar was selected for all six substrates, requiring 12 h for white rice, red rice, and barley and 24 h for finger millet, pearl millet, and sorghum. Maximum specific growth rates ranged from 1.319 to 1.997 h-1 among natural starters. The mixed starter reduced the selected fermentation period, with 5% inoculum reaching 2.19 ? 1010 CFU/mL within 6 h, together with pH 4.35 ± 0.078 and titratable acidity of approximately 0.841% lactic acid. This treatment showed the highest maximum specific growth rate of 2.88 h-1 and a calculated doubling time of 0.24 h. The results demonstrate matrix-dependent behaviour of natural starter systems and show that controlled mixed inoculation can provide rapid fermentation under the tested conditions. These optimized starter conditions provide a basis for further development and validation of cereal- and millet-based fermented beverages.
Keywords: cereal beverages; millet beverages; lactic acid bacteria; starter culture; fermentation kinetics; mixed culture; non-dairy beverages
How to Cite?: Vaidehi Mande, Sneha Karadbhajne, "Starter Culture Optimization for Cereal- and Millet-Based Fermented Beverages", Volume 15 Issue 9, September 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1733-1740, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26926170909, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26926170909