Identificación de la biodiversidad durante la fermentación de cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) de la variedad “Nacional” en fermentadores tipo hexagonal, en la ciudad de Archidona.

Abstract

Cocoa beans fermentation is one of the principal processes, related to the organoleptic characteristics, even more, in the final quality of chocolate. In Ecuador, cocoa is the major exportation product, especially Nacional variety. However, the fermentation process depends on the traditional techniques of each farm, whereby the aroma and taste are very variable. The present study aimed to describe the microbial diversity present during the time of fermentation with the use of two types of hexagonal fermenters, in order to improve the development of microorganisms which will help to improve the final organoleptic characteristics of beans. The cocoa beans were fermented for 96 hours and the samples were taken at different times of the fermentation. Posteriorly, the samples were cultivated in PCA media, for later, perform the extraction and sequencing of microbial DNA The fermenters were compared with a DBCA taking 95% confidence. This work found that there are no significant effects on the type of fermenter. While, with respect to the taxonomic identification among the representative genus are Issatchenkia for yeast, Acetobacter for acetic acid bacteria, Tatumella and Lactobacillus for lactic acid bacteria.