September 2018 | Vol. 46 | No. 3 Microbiol. Biotechnol. Lett. (2018), 46(3), 210–224 http://dx.doi.org/10.4014/mbl.1801.01010 pISSN 1598-642X eISSN 2234-7305 Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters Microbiota and Physicochemical Analysis on Traditional Kocho Fermentation Enhancer to Reduce Losses ( Gammaa) in the Highlands of Ethiopia Adane Hailu Dibaba 1 , Ashenafi Chaka Tuffa 2 *, Endrias Zewdu Gebremedhin 3 , Gerbaba Guta Nugus 4 , and Girma Gebresenbet 2 1 Department of Biology, Ambo University, P. O. Box 19, Ambo, Ethiopia 2 Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, Box 7032, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden 3 Department of Veterinary Science, Ambo University, P. O. Box 19, Ambo, Ethiopia 4 Department of Public Health, Ambo University, P. O. Box 19, Ambo, Ethiopia Received: January 22, 2018 / Revised: April 4, 2018 / Accepted: July 9, 2018 Introduction Fermented foods are produced and consumed world- wide using various manufacturing techniques, raw materials and microorganisms [1]. Ethiopia is one of the countries where a variety of fermented, non-fermented foods and beverages are produced and consumed from a wide range of raw materials by using traditional tech- niques. Warqe has been traditionally fermented for gen- erations in an earthen pit into carbohydrate-rich food product called kocho. Kocho is one of the most common indigenous fermented foods consumed in Ethiopia. Kocho is the dough like material which is the bulk of the fermented starch obtained from the mixture of the decorticated leaf sheaths and pulverized corm of the warqe plant (Ensete ventricosum) [2]. Warqe (Ensete ventricosum) has been traditionally fermented in an earthen pit to yield a carbohydrate-rich food product named kocho, for generations. A fermentation enhancer (gammaa) was added to this ferment- ing mass to enhance the fermentation process. The objectives of this study were to assess the physicochem- ical properties and microbiota of the kocho fermentation enhancer culture to reduce losses. Cross-sectional study design was implemented to collect 131 gammaa samples on the first day of fermentation. The samples were further classified into four groups according to the duration of fermentation (14, 21, 30, and 60 days) practised in various households traditionally. The results showed that the fermentation time significantly affected the physicochemical properties and microbial load of gammaa (p < 0.01). As the fermentation pro- gressed from day 1 to 60, the pH decreased and the titratable acidity increased. The total coliform, Entero- bacteriaceae, aerobicmesophilic bacteria (AMB), yeast, and mould counts were significantly reduced at the end of fermentation. In contrast, the number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) increased significantly until day 30 of fermentation, because of the ability of the LAB to grow at low pH. Lactobacillus species from LAB iso- lates and Enter obacteriaceae from AMB isolates were the most abundant microorganisms in gammaa fer- mentation. However, the Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacilli species count showed decreasing and increasing trends, respectively, as the fermentation progressed. These isolates must be investigated fur- ther to identify the species and strain, so as to develop gammaa at the commercial scale. Keywords: Ensete ventricosum, Ethiopia, fermentation enhancer, kocho, microbiota *Corresponding author Tel: +46-737-283-797, Fax: +46 (0)18-67 10 00 E-mail: ashanafi.chaka.tuffa@slu.se © 2018, The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology