IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL SORGHUM BEERS QUALITY AND POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF PLANTS EXTRACTS FOR THEIR STABILIZATION: A REVIEW Christian Tétédé Rodrigue KONFO*1, Nicodème Worou CHABI2, Edwige DAHOUENON1-AHOUSSI1, Martial CAKPO-CHICHI2, Mohamed Mansourou SOUMANOU 3, Dominique Coco Kodjo SOHOUNHLOUE1 Address(es): 1 University of Abomey-Calavi, Polytechnic School of Abomey-Calavi, Laboratory of Study and Research in Applied Chemistry, 01 BP 2009, Cotonou, Benin. 2 University of Abomey-Calavi, Polytechnic School of Abomey-Calavi, Teaching and Research Laboratory in Food Microbiology. *Corresponding author:
[email protected] doi: 10.15414/jmbfs.2015.5.2.190-196 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Received 8. 9. 2014 In Africa, various kinds of traditional alcoholic beverages commonly named sorghum beers or opaque beers, have been recorded and Revised 21. 7. 2015 described. These drinks have a central role in peoples' cultures and play fundamental socioeconomic function. Their brewing involves Accepted 17. 8. 2015 malting, mashing, souring, straining, boiling and two successive steps of fermentation which occur at ambient conditions. A primary Published 1. 10. 2015 lactic fermentation, or souring stage, confers the souring taste and storage longevity. The alcoholic fermentation is usually initiated by pitching wort with a portion of previous brew. The beverage thus obtained is unstable. Since the African sorghum beers fermentation process is run by uncontrolled inoculation under no standard hygienic conditions, producers have a major problem to make a good beer Review with a long shelf-life. In other hand, recently the disappearance of many active synthetic substances in foods protection has resulted to a renewed interest in naturally occurring substances.