Microbial, physicochemical and proximate analysis of selected Ethiopian traditional fermented beverages

Abstract Various fermented beverages have been produced and consumed across the world. Many of the low alcoholic traditional fermented beverages are valued for their nutritional values, safety and means of livelihood. The objective of this study was to assess microbial quality, physicochemical properties, and proximate composition of selected Ethiopian traditional fermented beverages. . The microbial analysis was conducted by homogenizing 25 ml of each sample in 225 ml sterile peptone water followed serial dilution, plating on respective culture media, incubation, and enumeration. Physicochemical and proximate analyses were done following standard analytical methods. Lactic acid bacteria (6.09–8.13 log CFU ml−1) and yeast (6.13–8.43 log CFU ml−1) dominated microbiology of all the three beverages, with highly significant (P = 0.000) differences in mean microbial count among samples. Physico-chemically, tej had more alcohol contents (8.23 ± 2.07) than grawa (4.8 ± 0.54) and borde (3.35 ± 0.64). Likewise, content (g/100 ml) of carbohydrate (6.88 ± 1.74), protein (3.20 ± 0.39) and ash (0.78 ± 0.12) of borde were significantly higher (P = 0.000) than that of grawa and tej. In general, borde had relatively higher microbial load and better nutritional quality. Thus, having improved the microbiological quality and designed mechanism for extension of the product's shelf life, borde could be used as nutritious local beverages.