LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF SWEET POTATO

(IPOMOEA BATATAS L.) INTO PICKLES

SMITA H. PANDA, MOUSUMI PARMANICK and RAMESH C. RAY1

Regional Centre of Central Tuber Crops Research Institute

Bhubaneswar 751 019, Orissa, India

Accepted for Publication September 13, 2006

ABSTRACT

Lactic acid (LA) fermentation has many benefits. It is feasible in small

scale, inexpensive, and does not require additives and confers organoleptic
characteristics to the foodstuff according to the habits and requirement of the
consumers. Sweet potato roots were pickled by lactic fermentation by brining
the cut and blanched roots in common salt (NaCl, 2–10%) solution and
subsequently inoculated with a strain of Lactobacillus plantarum (MTCC
1407) for 28 days. The treatment with 8–10% brine solution was found to be
the most acceptable organoleptically. The final product with 8 and 10% brine
solutions had a pH of 2.9–3.0, titratable acidity of 2.9–3.7 g/kg, LA of 2.6–
3.2 g/kg and starch of 58–68 g/kg on fresh weight basis. Sensory evaluation
rated the sweet potato lacto-pickle acceptable based on texture, taste, aroma,
flavor and aftertaste. Principal component analyses reduced the six original
analytical variables to two independent components (factors), which
accounted for 92% of the total variations.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Lacto-pickles prepared from b-carotene-rich sweet potato by lactic fer-

mentation using Lactobacillus plantarum as the starter culture would be a
good prospect for commercialization in small-scale industries. The lacto-
pickle is rich in provitamin A, starch, sugars and lactic acid, which imparts
flavour and sour taste, and possesses usual beneficial probiotic properties of
lactic acid bacteria. b-carotene-rich sweet potato lacto-pickle would be a novel
product similar to lactic-fermented cucumber, garlic and cabbage, and its
regular consumption would be helpful in combating night blindness, liver
injury, aging and related ailments because of anti-oxidant principles.

1
Corresponding author. TEL/FAX: +91-674-2470528; EMAIL: rc_ray@rediffmail.com

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 31 (2007) 83–101. All Rights Reserved.
© 2007, The Author(s) 83
Journal compilation © 2007, Blackwell Publishing
84 S.H. PANDA, M. PARMANICK and R.C. RAY

INTRODUCTION

Sweet potato is the world’s seventh most important food crop after wheat,
rice, maize, potato, barley and cassava (Ray and Ravi 2005). India is considered
one of the leading producers of sweet potato in the world with production of 1.35
million tons of roots annually (Ray and Balagopalan 1997; Ray and Ravi 2005).
Sweet potato roots, which are mostly grown in India organically (Ray and
Balagopalan 1997), are consumed either as fresh vegetables, boiled or baked in
the normal diet of rural and tribal people. The roots are rich in starch, sugars,
vitamin C, provitamin A, iron and minerals (Woolfe 1992), and some varieties
contain colored pigments such as b-carotene and anthocyanin (Yamakawa
1998). These pigments are considered antioxidant having physiological
attributes such as antioxidation, anticancer and protection against night blind-
ness, aging and liver injury (Yamakawa 1998; Panda et al. 2006).
Lactic acid (LA) fermentation of vegetable products, applied as a pres-
ervation method for the production of finished and half-finished products, is an
important technology and it is further investigated because of the growing
amount of raw materials processed in this way in the food industry. The main
reasons for this interest are the nutritional, physiological and hygienic aspect
of the process (Karoviĉova et al. 2001, 2002). Most vegetables can be
LA-fermented, although so far cucumber, cabbage and olives are the only
vegetables that are fermented in large volumes for human consumption
(Montet et al. 2006). However, there are agricultural, nutritional, sensory and
preservation reasons for evaluating LA fermentation as a potential process for
making new products from other vegetables such as sweet potato.
Fermentation of vegetables can occur “spontaneously” because of the
natural lactic bacterial surface microflora, i.e., Lactobacillus spp., Leuconos-
toc spp., Pediococcus spp., etc.; however, the use of a “starter culture” pro-
vides consistency and reliability of performance (McFeeters 2004), and
Lactobacillus plantarum is the “starter” most frequently used in LA fermen-
tation of plant materials (Molin 2001; Montet et al. 2006).
Principal component analysis (PCA) is used in all scientific branches
(Frau et al. 1999; Tzouros and Arvanitoyannis 2001; Arvanitoyannis and
Tzouros 2005). This method is advantageously applied for the evaluation in
food products analyses (Arvanitoyannis et al. 2005). PCA is used for the
reduction of information on a large number of variables into a small set while
losing only a small amount of information (Fievez et al. 2003). The major
feature of this method is the reduction of the dimensionality in a set of
variables by constructing an uncorrelated linear combination of them. The
combinations are computed in such a way that the first component accounts for
the major part of variance, which is the major axis of the points in the
p-dimensional space (Tzouros and Arvanitoyannis 2001).
 LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF SWEET POTATO 85

In this paper, LA fermentation of sweet potato has been described using

L. plantarum as the starter culture, and the sensory attributes (texture, taste,
aroma, flavor, color, appearance and aftertaste) of the final product were
evaluated. For the evaluation of the results of the biochemical analyses of
sweet potato lacto-pickle, the multivariate statistical methods (correlation
analysis and PCA) were studied.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

L. plantarum (MTCC 1407) Culture

The L. plantarum culture was procured from the Institute of Microbial
Technology, Chandigarh, India. The bacterial culture was maintained on
Mann–Rogassa–Sharpe (MRS) agar slants.

Preparation of Starter Culture

One hundred grams of good quality sweet grapes (var. Bangalore Blue)
was selected and washed under running tap water. The grapes were mashed in
a Mixer-cum Grinder (TTK Prestige Ltd., Bangalore, India) and the juice was
extracted using a juice squeezer. The volume of juice (filtered through cotton
cheesecloth) was measured and an equal volume of water was added. The
mixture was boiled for 10–15 min on a hot plate and was cooled at room
temperature of 28 ⫾ 2C. After cooling, the grape juice was inoculated with the
L. plantarum culture from the stock culture under laminar flow (Klenzoides,
Bombay, India) and was incubated (Beautex Instruments, New Delhi, India) at
30C for 24 h to prepare the starter culture.

Pickling of Sweet Potato

Freshly harvested and unbruised b-carotene-rich sweet potato (var. ST
14) roots were collected from the experimental farm of the Regional Centre of
Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Bhubaneswar, India, in
November 2005 (day temperature, 28 ⫾ 2C and night temperature, 20 ⫾ 2C).
These roots were harvested randomly from three subplots (4 ¥ 4 m) of a larger
plot (40 ¥ 40 m) and mixed. The roots were used within 24 h after harvest. The
roots were properly washed, peeled and cut into small cubes (approximately
1 ¥ 1 cm). These cubes were blanched in boiling water for 1 min at 70C. The
blanched sweet potato cubes (140 g) were dispensed in 500-mL plastic jars
(Polypet, Bombay, India). A brine solution of five different salt concentrations
(2–10%) was prepared by dissolving salt (NaCl) (Tata Salt, Bhav Nagar, India)
in distilled water, and 300 mL of the prepared brine solution was added to each
86 S.H. PANDA, M. PARMANICK and R.C. RAY

bottle. Three replicates were maintained per each salt concentration and the
data from the biochemical analyses were calculated as a means of three
replications. One tablespoon (7 mL) of the starter culture (1 ¥ 107 cfu/mL) was
inoculated into each bottle and capped tightly. The sweet potato brine solutions
were fermented on the laboratory bench at room temperature (28 ⫾ 2C). The
flowchart for making sweet potato lacto-pickle is given in Fig. 1. Although
sourness developed after 7 days of fermentation, the fermentation was allowed
to continue up to 28 days for the pickle to be seasoned before preservative, i.e.,
potassium metabisulfite (100 mg/g) was added to prevent the growth of unde-
sirable microorganisms such as salt-tolerant fungi, i.e., Aspergillus spp.

Biochemical Analysis
Biochemical composition of sweet potato roots (Table 1) was determined
as follows: moisture was determined by vacuum oven, protein (total nitrogen
[N] ¥ 6.25) and N by Kjeldahl, and ash by the muffle furnace methods (CTCRI
2000). Crude fiber was determined by enzymatic-gravimetric method (Prosky
et al. 1985) using Fiber Tech Instrument (Pelican Equipments, Chennai,
India). Starch, reducing sugar and ascorbic acid were quantified by the pro-
cedure given by Mahadevan and Sridhar (1993) and were expressed as g/100 g
fresh roots. Mineral contents were estimated by Atomic-Absorption Spectro-
photometer (Model No. 3400, Perkin-Elmer, CA, USA) (Emmel et al. 1977).
Sweet potato cubes and brine (1:5 ratios) were homogenized in a
Mixture-cum Grinder (TTK Prestige) and the equilibrated mash was used for
biochemical analyses. The data were collected for pH and biochemicals
(starch, total sugar, b-carotene content, titratable acidity and LA) constituents.
The pH values were determined by a pH meter (Model 351, Systronics, India
Pvt. Ltd., Ahmadabad, India) using glass electrode. Titratable acidity was
determined by titration method and LA by spectrophotometric method using
a UV-VIS Spectrophotometer (Model C-7250, Cecil Instruments, Cambridge,
U.K.) (Amerine and Ough 1980), and the data were expressed as equivalent of
LA g/kg roots. Starch and total sugar contents were estimated by the procedure
given by Mahadevan and Sridhar (1993), and the values were expressed in
g/kg roots. b-Carotene content was determined by spectrophotometric method
(CTCRI 2000) and expressed as mg/kg roots.

Sensory Evaluation Assay

Sensory attributes (taste, aroma, flavor, color/appearance and aftertaste)
were evaluated using a 5-point hedonic scale (where 1 = dislike extremely and
5 = like extremely) by 18 panelists (gender: 10 women, 8 men; age group:
30–40) selected from the local people and staff and faculty of several
 LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF SWEET POTATO 87

Sweet potato

Washing, cleaning by tap water and peeling

Cut into small cubes 1×1 cm approx.

Blanching
(Dip in hot water at 700C for 10-15 min)

Dip the blanched sweet potato cubes in brine solution [2-10%NaCl (w/v)]

Add the brine solution-treated sweet potato cubes in

plastic jars

Inoculation with starter culture

Inoculation with Lactobacillus plantarum starter culture [use 48h old starter culture at 7% (v/v)]

Fermentation (at 28±20C for 28 days)

Add 100µg/g potassium metabisulfite (preservative)

Final packing (plastic jars sealed anaerobically)

Sweet potato pickle

FIG. 1. PREPARATION OF SWEET POTATO PICKLE FLOWCHART

88 S.H. PANDA, M. PARMANICK and R.C. RAY

TABLE 1.
BIOCHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF b-CAROTENE-RICH
SWEET POTATO VAR. ST 14 (FRESH WEIGHT BASIS)

Constituents Mean value*

Moisture (g/kg) 755.0 ⫾ 39.2

Protein (g/kg) 33.8 ⫾ 2.2
Starch (g/kg) 148.0 ⫾ 35.4
Total sugar (g/kg) 23.5 ⫾ 3.4
Dietary fiber (g/kg) 18.9 ⫾ 2.9
Ash (g/kg) 9.2 ⫾ 1.8
Minerals (mg/kg)
Ca 350 ⫾ 2.4
P 510 ⫾ 1.1
Mg 260 ⫾ 4.7
Na 380 ⫾ 3.5
K 2,830 ⫾ 13.4
S 150 ⫾ 12.2
Fe 5.8 ⫾ 1.4
Cu 1.8 ⫾ 0.2
Zn 6.8 ⫾ 1.0
Mn 1.5 ⫾ 0.4
Al 7.5 ⫾ 0.3
B 1.2 ⫾ 0.3
b-Carotene (mg/kg) 180 ⫾ 4.1
Ascorbic acid (mg/kg) 200 ⫾ 4.1

* Data obtained from the same cultivar grown in three subplots

(4 ¥ 4 m) in the same field (40 ¥ 40 m) harvested in November
2005.
⫾ SD.

horticulture-related departments who usually consume pickles and lactic-

fermented products. The samples were served in polypropylene transparent
cups, which had been labeled with a 3-digit random number. Questionnaires
and water to rinse the mouth between each tasting were provided. Prior to
evaluation, a session was held to familiarize the panelists with the product. The
panelists were asked to read through the questionnaires, and the meaning of
each attribute (texture, taste, aroma, flavor, color/appearance and aftertaste)
was explained to avoid any misinterpretation (Meilgaard et al. 1991; Kilcast
and Subramanian 2000). The tasters were not allowed to discuss their scores
with one another during the evaluation session. Another set of lacto-pickles
was evaluated as replication 2 the following day. Sensory evaluation data were
presented as means of the panelists’ score. A standard t-test was used to test for
the statistical significance of the differences observed between the scores of
the two tests (Cass 1980).
 LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF SWEET POTATO 89

Statistical Methods
For the evaluation of the analytical results, the multivariate statistical
methods (correlation analysis and PCA) were applied. The data matrix of the
analytical results by SPSS (SPSS Software for Windows release 10.0, SPSS
Inc, Chicago, IL, USA) was analyzed.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Many products like kimchi, sauerkraut and pickles are produced by LA

fermentation (Lee 1997; Hong et al. 1999; Montet et al. 2006). Most economi-
cally relevant are fermentations of olives, cucumbers and cabbage (Nout and
Rombouts 1992; Gardner et al. 2001). Kimchi (popular in Korea) is charac-
terized particularly by its sour, sweet and carbonated taste, and differs in flavor
from sauerkraut and pickles that are popular fermented vegetables in the West
(Hong et al. 1999). Fermented vegetables commonly produced in Asia are
gundruk (fermentation of mustard, radish and cauliflower leaves in Nepal,
Bhutan and northeastern states of India), dhamuoi (fermented cabbage and
other vegetables in Vietnam), dakguadong (fermented mustard leaves in Thai-
land) and kimchi (fermented Korean cabbage, radish). According to Kim et al.
(2000), Chinese cabbage, tomato, carrot and spinach juice gave relatively
higher fermentability than other vegetables as they have more saccharides.
Vegetable root crops such as sweet potato, yams (Dioscorea esculenta,
Dioscorea rotundata, Dioscorea alata and other species) and aroids (colocasia
[Colocasia antiquorum var. esculenta L.] and amorphophallus [Amorphophal-
lus paeoniifolius L.]) are rich in starch (12–25%; fresh weight basis) and can
serve as good substrates for fermentation (Ray and Ward 2006). These veg-
etables are seasonally produced mostly as rabi (October–January) crops and
are consumed by marginalized people in many Asia-Pacific countries
(Chandra 2000). Most of these peoples are in the habit of consuming pickles
from various vegetables and fruits (mango [Mangifera indica L.], amla
[Emblica officinalis L.], etc.) as dietary supplement and for culinary purpose.
Hence, a new product such as sweet potato lacto-pickles (Fig. 2) may serve as
an additional source of pickle with usual beneficial probiotic properties. Fur-
thermore, there were no physiological and microbiological deterioration of the
sweet potato pickle. The biochemical changes during LA fermentation of
sweet potato during the pickling process are described in the next section.

Changes in pH
pH is a critical factor in developing flavor and aroma of fermented fruits
and vegetables (Liu 2003; Montet et al. 2006). Most LA bacteria favor con-
90 S.H. PANDA, M. PARMANICK and R.C. RAY

FIG. 2. SWEET POTATO LACTO-PICKLES

TABLE 2.
pH VALUES OF SWEET POTATO DURING LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION

Equilibrated salt 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days

concentration (%)

2 2.6 ⫾ 0.1 2.8 ⫾ 0.4 2.9 ⫾ 0.5 2.1 ⫾ 0.1

4 2.6 ⫾ 0.1 2.7 ⫾ 0.3 2.5 ⫾ 0.2 2.1 ⫾ 0.1
6 2.8 ⫾ 0.3 2.9 ⫾ 0.5 3.0 ⫾ 0.3 2.9 ⫾ 0.5
8 2.8 ⫾ 0.4 2.9 ⫾ 0.5 3.1 ⫾ 0.4 2.9 ⫾ 0.5
10 2.9 ⫾ 0.5 3.0 ⫾ 0.3 3.1 ⫾ 0.4 3.0 ⫾ 0.3

Initial (0 day) pH value of sweet potato roots was 5.5.

⫾ SD.

ditions with a near neutral pH (Demain 2000; Battcock and Azam-Ali 2001).
The optimal pH of fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi is reported
to be at 3.5–4.5 (Gardner et al. 2001; Montet et al. 2006). In our study, the pH
of the raw material was 5.5. There was a gradual but quick fall of pH during
the first 7 days (5.0–5.2 on day 2, 4.2–4.5 on day 4 and 3.3–3.5 on day 6) of
fermentation. After fermentation for 7 days, the pH values were reduced to
2.6–2.9 (Table 2). The decrease in pH during LA fermentation was probably
due to the accumulation of organic acids, mainly LA (Lee 1999; Kim et al.
2000). Similarly, the pH values were measured on the 14th, 21st and 28th days
 LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF SWEET POTATO 91

of fermentation. However, there were no variations in the pH values during the

period of the pickling process (7–28 days). A rapid decrease in pH at the
beginning of fermentation is of importance for the quality of the end product
(Adams and Nicolaides 1997; Viander et al. 2003). Maifreni et al. (2004)
reported a drop in pH of turnip (Brassica rapa) from 6.4 to 3.7 in the first 24 h
of fermentation with a mixed culture of lactobacilli (Lactobacillus spp., Pedio-
coccus spp., etc.). The situation is also similar to other vegetables fermentation
(Gardner et al. 2001).

Changes in Titratable Acidity

The initial titratable acidity value for the raw material (sweet potato) was
somewhat low (0.8 g/kg roots) (Table 3). After fermentation for 7 days, the
titratable acidity values of sweet potato fermented in brine solutions increased
in the range of 2.3–6.6 g/kg roots. The increase in titratable acidity was
inversely proportional to the increase in salt concentration in the brine solu-
tion. However, the titratable acidity values remained the same even up to 28
days of fermentation in concomitant with the results obtained for pH. A rapid
increase in acidity in fermented vegetables is associated with the increase in
organic acids, mainly LA, which also minimizes the influence of spoilage
bacteria (Adams and Nicolaides 1997; Liu 2003; Montet et al. 2006).
Karoviĉova et al. (2002) reported a similar decrease in titratable acidity during
fermentation of cabbage-carrot juices using a strain of L. plantarum 92H as an
inoculant.

TABLE 3.
TITTRATABLE ACIDITY AND LACTIC ACID (LA) CONCENTRATIONS (g/kg ROOTS) OF
SWEET POTATO DURING LA FERMENTATION*

Equilibrated salt 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days

concentration (%)

2 6.6 ⫾ 0.5 5.7 ⫾ 0.3 5.2 ⫾ 0.2 5.4 ⫾ 0.2

(4.9 ⫾ 0.2) (4.7 ⫾ 0.2) (4.8 ⫾ 0.3) (4.2 ⫾ 0.2)
4 5.0 ⫾ 0.4 5.2 ⫾ 0.2 5.2 ⫾ 0.2 5.2 ⫾ 0.2
(3.6 ⫾ 0.2) (4.2 ⫾ 0.2) (4.4 ⫾ 0.3) (4.0 ⫾ 0.2)
6 4.0 ⫾ 0.2 4.4 ⫾ 0.3 4.6 ⫾ 0.3 4.0 ⫾ 0.3
(3.0 ⫾ 0.3) (3.5 ⫾ 0.1) (3.5 ⫾ 0.2) (3.4 ⫾ 0.1)
8 3.1 ⫾ 0.2 3.1 ⫾ 0.2 3.8 ⫾ 0.3 3.7 ⫾ 0.3
(2.6 ⫾ 0.1) (2.0 ⫾ 0.1) (3.6 ⫾ 0.1) (3.2 ⫾ 0.2)
10 2.3 ⫾ 0.1 2.4 ⫾ 0.1 3.0 ⫾ 0.3 2.9 ⫾ 0.5
(1.3 ⫾ 0.1) (1.6 ⫾ 0.1) (2.9 ⫾ 0.1) (2.6 ⫾ 0.2)

* Figures in parentheses indicate the corresponding LA values.

Initial (0 day) titratable acidity/LA value of sweet potato roots was 0.8 g/kg.
⫾ SD.
92 S.H. PANDA, M. PARMANICK and R.C. RAY

Changes in LA
Among the titratable acidities, LA is the prime organic acid during lactic
fermentation by lactobacilli (Vaughn 1985; Gardner et al. 2001). L. plantarum,
used as the starter culture in our study, produces predominantly L(+) LA (Liu
2003; Montet et al. 2006). Initially, the LA concentration in sweet potato (raw
material) before fermentation was negligible (0.8 ⫾ 0.02 g/kg roots). But after
fermentation for 7 days with L. plantarum, the LA concentration increased in
the range of 1.3–4.9 g/kg sweet potato roots (Table 3). Similar to titratable
acidity, the increase in LA concentration was inversely proportional to the
increase in NaCl concentrations in the brine solutions. Furthermore, there was
no variation in LA concentrations whether fermentation was carried out for 7
or 28 days. The increase in LA concentration was presumed to be due to the
conversion of fermentable sugar into LA by the rapid activity of L. plantarum
(Gardner et al. 2001). Moreover, it was observed that in sweet potato roots
treated with 2% NaCl, the LA concentration was higher in comparison to that
of sweet potato treated with 8–10% NaCl concentrations. Higher salt concen-
trations might have inhibited the growth of L. plantarum, although there are
reports to show that this bacterium tolerates salt concentration up to 14%
(Zhang et al. 2000; Montet et al. 2006). Gardner et al. (2001) studied various
LA bacteria for the fermentation of cabbage, carrot and beet-based vegetable
products. It was found that a starter culture consisting of L. plantarum NQ312,
Pediococcus acidilactici AFERM772 and Leuconostoc mesenteroides BLAC
accelerated the fermentation process concomitant with the accumulation of
LA. In another study, for the preparation of LA-fermented vegetable salads,
Karoviĉova et al. (1999) used green pea, carrot, celery and onion. The salads
were inoculated with various Lactobacillus strains. The highest production of
LA was observed in the salad inoculated by Lactobacillus spp.

Changes in Starch
Preliminary evaluation of sweet potato pickles has shown that pickles
prepared with 8 and 10% brine solutions were texturally acceptable and
satisfactory tastewise. Further experiments were carried out with sweet pota-
toes fermented with brine containing these salt concentrations. Initially, the
starch concentration of fresh sweet potato (raw material) roots was reported
to be at 148.0 g/kg (Table 4). But after 7 days of fermentation, the value
decreased to 133.0 g/kg sweet potato roots. The decrease in starch content was
probably due to the amylolytic activity of L. plantarum, which involves con-
version of starch to sugar (Giraud et al. 1991). Some strains of L. plantarum
are reported to be amylolytic (Fukumoto et al. 1957; Giraud et al. 1991).
Preliminary studies have shown that the strain L. plantarum (MTCC 1,407)
produced amylase in MRS broth (data not given).
 LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF SWEET POTATO 93

TABLE 4.
STARCH AND TOTAL SUGAR CONCENTRATIONS (g/kg ROOTS) OF SWEET POTATO
DURING LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION*

Equilibrated salt 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days

concentration (%)

8 133 ⫾ 2.1 131 ⫾ 1.3 91 ⫾ 1.0 58 ⫾ 1.2

(6.6 ⫾ 0.3) (3.3 ⫾ 0.2) (2.0 ⫾ 0.1) (1.2 ⫾ 0.1)
10 133 ⫾ 2.3 104 ⫾ 1.1 66.8 ⫾ 1.7 68 ⫾ 1.1
(5.5 ⫾ 0.3) (3.8 ⫾ 0.2) (1.8 ⫾ 0.1) (1.8 ⫾ 0.1)

* Figures in parentheses indicate the corresponding total sugar values.

Initial (0 day) starch and total sugar values of sweet potato roots were 148.0 and 23.5 g/kg, respectively.
⫾ SD.

Changes in Sugar
Sugar concentration was found to decrease proportionally with the
increase in the duration of fermentation from 7 to 28 days (Table 4). It was
clear that due to the amylolytic activity of L. plantarum (MTCC 1,407), a part
of the starch in sweet potato was converted to sugar and consequently to LA
during organic acid metabolism (Giraud et al. 1993; Zhang et al. 2000).
However, all the fermentable sugars generated did not convert to LA; a sub-
stantial portion had been probably utilized by L. plantarum and other micro-
organisms present in the fermentation medium for their normal metabolism
(Montet et al. 2006).

b-Carotene Content
Initially, the b-carotene concentration of fresh sweet potato roots was
180 mg/kg. After 7 days of fermentation, the b-carotene concentration was
found in the range of 169–176 mg/kg roots (Table 5). Some amount of
b-carotene may have been destroyed during blanching of roots at 70C as
b-carotene is not thermostable beyond >65–70C (Yamakawa 1998). However,
after 7 days of fermentation, the decline in b-carotene concentration was
negligible.

Sensory Evaluation
An 18-member consumer panel evaluated the sweet potato lacto-pickles
prepared using 10% brine solution (Table 6). Sensory evaluation analysis
showed that the panelists rated the product high in acceptability (like much to
like very much) considering the attributes such as texture, taste, aroma, flavor,
color, appearance and aftertaste.
94 S.H. PANDA, M. PARMANICK and R.C. RAY

TABLE 5.
b-CAROTENE CONCENTRATIONS (mg/kg ROOTS) OF SWEET POTATO DURING
LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION

Equilibrated salt 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days

concentration (%)

8 175.8 ⫾ 5.1 167.7 ⫾ 4.3 164.5 ⫾ 4.0 163.2 ⫾ 3.3

10 168.7 ⫾ 4.3 164.5 ⫾ 4.1 163.2 ⫾ 3.3 163.2 ⫾ 3.3

Initial (0 day) b-carotene value of sweet potato roots was 180 mg/kg.
⫾ SD.

TABLE 6.
SENSORY EVALUATION OF THE SWEET POTATO
LACTO-PICKLES*

Attributes* Sweet potato lacto-pickles

Texture 3.5
Taste 4.5
Aroma 4.0
Flavor 3.8
Color/appearance 3.0
Aftertaste 3.5

* Values are means of the panelist’s scores (n = 36).

1 = dislike extremely; 2 = like moderately; 3 = like much; 4 = like
very much; 5 = like extremely.

Statistical Evaluation of Results of Biochemical Analyses

The correlation analysis was used for the measurement of the linear
association between variables. Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r2) among
the analytical variables are presented in Table 7. All the analytical parameters
were significantly correlated with each other. For example, the pH was sig-
nificantly correlated to titratable acidity and LA. The other important correla-
tions were titratable acidity and LA (0.974), titratable acidity and total sugar
(-0.723), LA and total sugar (-0.698), starch and total sugar (0.689), etc.
Using PCA, the six original variables were reduced to two principal
components (PC1 and PC2), which had eigenvalues larger than 1 and retained
for rotation. PC1 accounted for 74%, whereas PC2 accounted for 18% of the
total variations (Table 8). When combined, PC1 and PC2 together accounted
for 92% of the total variations.
To assist interpretation of dimensions, the factor pattern was rotated using
the varimax method. Based on the guidelines provided by Stevens (1992), an
attribute was considered to load heavily on a given component if the factor
 LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF SWEET POTATO 95

TABLE 7.
CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS FOR ANALYTICAL VARIABLES

pH Titratable acidity LA Starch Total sugar b-Carotene

pH 1.000 -0.855* -0.801* 0.531* 0.945* 0.669*

Titratable acidity 1.000 0.974* -0.342* -0.723* -0.471*
LA 1.000 -0.418* -0.698* -0.522*
Starch 1.000 0.689* 0.822*
Total sugar 1.000 0.811*
b-Carotene 1.000

* Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

LA, lactic acid.

TABLE 8.
PERCENTAGE VARIANCE AND VARIABLE LOADING FOR
TWO ANALYTICAL PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS (PC1 AND
PC2) USING VARIMAX ROTATION

Analytical attributes PC1 PC2

Percentage of variance 74.245 17.761

explained
Loading
pH 0.822 0.485
Titratable acidity -0.974 -0.176
Lactic acid -0.931 -0.235
Starch 0.154 0.931
Total sugar 0.652 0.696
b-Carotene 0.318 0.898

loading was greater than 0.72. A total of five analytical attributes loaded
heavily on two dimensions while the loading of total sugar did not meet
Stevens’ guidelines (<0.72). Three analytical variables, i.e., pH (+ve), titrat-
able acidity (-ve) and LA (-ve) were loaded heavily on PC1, indicating strong
correlations among these attributes. Therefore, the combination of these vari-
ables loading on PC1 may be broadly referred as the “acid” axis as these
components are responsible for the acidity (sourness) of sweet potato pickle.
Substantial factor loading of starch (+ve) and b-carotene (+ve) was observed
on PC2, which may be designated as the “nutrient” axis. Plotting PC1 against
PC2 shows the similar trend (Fig. 3).
There were few number of studies when PCA was applied for evaluation
of lactic-fermented food product analysis (Karovicova et al. 2002). Karovi-
ĉova and Kohajdovă (2002) have evaluated vegetable juices processed by
lactic fermentation using PCA and reduced seven original analytical variables
96 S.H. PANDA, M. PARMANICK and R.C. RAY

Starch
Beta-carotene

0.75
Total Sugar
Principal Component 2

0.50 pH

0.25

0.00

TA
–0.25 LA

–1.00 –0.50 0.00 0.50

Principal Component 1

FIG. 3. GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS

(PC1 AND PC2) OF ANALYTICAL VARIABLES
TA, titratable acidity; LA, lactic acid.

to just one independent component (factor), which accounted for 96.9% of the
total variances. Similarly, Mohapatra et al. (2006) applied PCA in analyzing
the nutritional and proximate composition of sweet potato curd. PCA reduced
the 14 original analytical (proximate) variables (starch, total sugar, LA,
b-carotene, etc.) to four independent components (factors), which accounted
for 97% of the total variations. In the present study, the six analytical variables
were reduced to just two by application of PCA.

CONCLUSIONS

LA bacteria perform an essential role in the preservation and production

of wholesome foods ranging from fermented fresh vegetables such as cabbage,
cucumber, sweet potato (the present study) to fermented cereals, yogurt, sour
dough bread, fermented milk, fish and meat products. These bacteria grow
readily on most food substrates and lower the pH rapidly to a point where other
competing organisms are no longer able to grow (Ausco et al. 1998). LA
fermentation also has some other distinct advantages, e.g., the food becomes
resistant to microbial spoilage and to development of toxins (Kalantzopoulos
1997).
 LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF SWEET POTATO 97

Sweet potato, in tropical regions, is consumed in the households of

small farmers and poor people. Night blindness is a major physiological
disorder among these people due to vitamin A deficiency, which can be
alleviated by regular consumption of orange-flesh (b-carotene-rich) sweet
potato either fresh, boiled or as a supplement in curd/yogurt (Ray and Panda
2005; Panda et al. 2006) and as lacto-pickles. Consumption of pickles pre-
pared from various vegetables (yams, colocasia), fruits (mango, amla, etc.)
and lactic-fermented products (cucumber, cabbage, etc.) is in the regular food
habits of the people in the Asian continent. Sweet potato lacto-pickles pre-
pared by lactic fermentation of sweet potato using L. plantarum as a starter
culture would be a good prospect for commercialization in small-scale indus-
tries in these developing countries. Further research is in progress in our
laboratory to study in improving the shelf life, texture analyses, the nutrition
and calorific values of sweet potato pickles and the effects of LA fermenta-
tion on the degradation of antinutrient factors in sweet potato such as
a-amylase and trypsin inhibitors.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors are thankful to Dr. S. Edison, Director of the Regional Centre
of Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, for providing the necessary
facilities.

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