LWT - Food Science and Technology 46 (2012) 36e41

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LWT - Food Science and Technology

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Occurrence and growth of lactic acid bacteria species during the fermentation
of shalgam (salgam), a traditional Turkish fermented beverage
Hasan Tanguler a, Huseyin Erten a, b, *
a
b

Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Food Engineering, 58140 Kamps/Sivas, Turkey
Cukurova University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Food Engineering, 01330 Adana, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 21 August 2010
Received in revised form
19 October 2011
Accepted 27 October 2011

Shalgam (salgam) is a traditional lactic acid beverage produced from the lactic acid fermentation of black
carrot, turnip, rock-salt, sourdough, bulgur our and drinkable water. The aim of this study was to
examine quantitatively the occurrence and growth of lactic acid bacteria during the course of fermentation using the traditional production method consisting of two stages: First fermentation and second
fermentation. Isolated strains from experiments made at university laboratory, and large and small scale
production plants in industry were identied by morphological, physiological and biochemical characterisations and using the commercially available system API 50 CH for the characterisation of carbohydrate fermentation patterns. The number of LAB increased during the fermentations. The most dominant
LAB during the rst and second fermentations was Lactobacillus plantarum. Next to L. plantarum,
Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei was quantitatively the most important LAB recovered from all
fermentations. Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus fermentum were also subsequently determined in
some fermentations. Low populations of Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides, Pediococcus
pentosaceaceus, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii were present at the beginning but died off
during the fermentation.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Lactic acid bacteria
Lactobacillus
Lactic acid fermentation
Shalgam (salgam)
Naturally fermented beverage
Traditional fermented beverage

1. Introduction
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic fermented beverages are produced
throughout the world. Some beverages produced through alcoholic
fermentation such as wine and beer are of great commercial
importance worldwide (Waites, Morgan, Rockey, & Higton, 2001,
288 pp.). Some fermented beverages obtained as a result of lactic
acid or lactic acid and alcohol fermentations are of minor economic
importance in global terms. They are, however, produced
commercially in some countries. These beverages may be exemplied as ayran (Ozer, 2006, 488 pp.), boza (Zorba, Hancioglu, Genc,
Karapinar, & Ova, 2003), ker, koumiss (Tamime & Marshall, 1997),
shalgam (salgam) (Erten, Tanguler, & Canbas, 2008).
Shalgam, a traditional lactic acid fermented beverage, is a red
coloured, cloudy and sour soft drink; it is mainly produced in some
provinces of Southern Turkey, especially in Adana, Mersin, Hatay
and Kahramanmaras in homes, villages and industries. Shalgam is
widely consumed with food and as a refreshing drink in mainly
* Corresponding author. Cukurova University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department
of Food Engineering, 01330 Adana, Turkey. Tel.: 90 322 3386173; fax: 90 322
3386614.
E-mail address: herten@cu.edu.tr (H. Erten).
0023-6438/$ e see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2011.10.026

these provinces. It has also become a popular beverage in such

metropolitan cities as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir Metropolies
(Canbas & Deryaoglu, 1993; Canbas & Fenercioglu, 1984).
The raw materials used for shalgam production are black carrot
(Daucus carota ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef.) which is the main
raw material, turnip (Brassica rapa L.), rock-salt, sourdough, bulgur
our and drinkable water (Erten et al., 2008).
Although no standard manufacturing method is available for
shalgam production and processing is different from one plant to
another, there are two main processing methods for commercial
production: the traditional method and the direct method (Erten
et al., 2008).
The traditional method consists of two stages: First (Dough)
fermentation and second (Carrot or main) fermentation. The rst
fermentation is performed for the enrichment of lactic acid bacteria
(LAB) and yeasts. The mixture of bulgur our, salt, sourdough and
adequate water is left for fermentation at room temperature for
3e5 days. The fermented mixture of bulgur our and sourdough is
extracted with adequate water for three to ve times. The extracts
obtained from rst fermentation are combined with sorted and
chopped black carrot, salt, if available sliced turnip and adequate
water in a tank for second fermentation. Second fermentation is
naturally carried out for 3e10 days at ambient temperature. After

H. Tanguler, H. Erten / LWT - Food Science and Technology 46 (2012) 36e41

the completion of fermentation, fermented juice is removed from

the vessel and marketed. In direct production method, rst
fermentation (Dough fermentation) is not carried out. The chopped
black carrots, salt, if available sliced turnip, bakers yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) or sourdough and adequate water are transferred to a tank and allowed to ferment at ambient temperature
(Erten et al., 2008).
It is generally accepted that the main fermentation agents of
shalgam are LAB which are responsible for the acidication process
by converting sugars into mainly lactic acid and other end
compounds, giving shalgam its typical taste and avour (Erten
et al., 2008). LAB can be divided into two groups: homofermentative and heterofermentative. Homofermentative LAB such
as some Lactobacillus (L.), Pediococcus (P.), Lactococcus (Lac.) and
Streptococcus produce lactic acid as the major or sole metabolic end
product of glucose fermentation using Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas
pathway. Heterofermentatif LAB such as Leuconostocs (Leu.),
Oenococcus, Weissella and some Lactobacillus form equimolar
amounts of lactate, CO2 and ethanol or acetate depending on air via
hexose monophosphate or pentose pathway (Blandio, Al-Aseeri,
Pandiella, Cantero, & Webb, 2003; Caplice & Fitzgerald, 1999; Holzapfel & Wood, 1995). Lactobacilli play an important role in several
food fermentations such as vegetables, meats and dairy products
(Bernerdau, Vernoux, Henri-Dubernet, & Gueguen, 2008; Caplice &
Fitzgerald, 1999). They are classied within the three groups:
obligately homofermentative, facultatively heterofermentative and
obligately heterofermentative lactobacilli. They are generally mostacid tolerant of LAB (Axelsson, 1998; Hammes & Vogel, 1995; Stiles
& Holzapfel, 1997). Lactic acid fermented cucumber and olive
fermentations are dominated and terminated primarily by Lactobacillus plantarum (Harris, 1998). L. plantarum is a facultatively
heterofermentative lactobacilli (Axelsson, 1998; Hammes & Vogel,
1995; Stiles & Holzapfel, 1997).
Shalgam production and consumption are increasing in Turkey.
Its quality is closely related to the microbial ecology, mainly LAB, of
fermentation. As we are aware, there are no available commercial
LAB starter cultures isolated from their natural environments to do
shalgam fermentations. Shalgam is produced with uncontrolled
fermentation which leads to a variation in terms of quality and
stability of the product. Therefore, it is important to select the
starter cultures for the controlled fermentations to produce a better
product.
Despite this fundamental contribution of microorganisms,
shalgam microbiology is complex and not known in detail (Erten
et al., 2008). This is the rst study about identication of LAB that
develops during dough fermentation. On the other hand, very
limited studies (Arc, 2004; Erginkaya & Hammes, 1992) have
identied some species of LAB that develop during carrot fermentation. However, these studies are qualitative in contribution and
quantitative knowledge describing the development of individual
LAB species during fermentation is lacking. The objective of this
research was to examine the quantitative development of individual LAB species during fermentation of shalgam produced in
laboratory, by small scale and large scale producers in industry.
Those species isolated in present study will be the source to
select the starter cultures for future studies and then for industrial
usage.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
For shalgam production, black carrot and turnip were kindly
provided by Icenbilir Shalgam Company (Adana, Turkey). Other raw
materials were purchased from market.

37

2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Shalgam production
Shalgam A was produced at the Biotechnology Laboratory of
Department of Food Engineering, Cukurova University. Shalgams B
and C were produced by commercial large and small scale
producers in industry, respectively.
Shalgam A production by traditional method was carried out
according to Erten et al. (2008). Traditional method consisted of
two stages. At stage one (rst or dough fermentation), bulgur our
(30 g L1), rock-salt (2 g L1), sourdough (2 g L1) made with the
incubation of bakers yeast at 30  C for 24 h and adequate drinkable
water were mixed and kneaded for the formation of dough. The
dough obtained was fermented in a tank at 25  C for 3 days. After
this time, about 20 L of water was added into fermented mixture,
blended well and extracted for 15 min. The extraction was done
four times. The extracts obtained from the rst fermentation were
combined to perform the second (carrot or main) fermentation
with sorted and chopped black carrots (150 g L1), rock-salt
(10 g L1), sliced turnip (10 g L1) in a 100 L of closed stainless
steel tank. If necessary, adequate water was added to ll the tank.
Fermentation was carried out at 25  C and followed daily by
measuring pH and total acidity as lactic acid. Shalgam A was
produced in triplicate at the laboratory.
Commercial samples, shalgam B from large scale producer and
shalgam C from small scale producer were also made by traditional
method according to the producers in industry. Samples were only
taken during the second fermentations which were carried out at
room temperature.
2.2.2. Enumeration and isolation of LAB
During the rst (dough) fermentation, daily samples of 25 g of
dough were dispersed aseptically into 225 mL of sterile physiological saline (8.5 g L1) and mixed thoroughly. During the second
(carrot) fermentation, shalgam samples (200 mL) were taken from
the centre of 100 L of fermentation vessel. Samples were serially
diluted (101 to 108) in sterile physiological saline and spreadinoculated (0.1 mL) onto plates of de Man, Ragosa, Sharpe (MRS)
Agar (Merck AG, Darmstadt, Germany), supplemented with
50 mg L1 cycloheximide to prevent the growth of yeasts and
moulds. Plates were incubated at 30  C for 3e5 days in jars made
anaerobic with GasPaks (Anaerocult A, Merck AG, Darmstadt,
Germany) for colony development. The LAB colonies were counted
on their morphology from the plates and various colony types were
selected and puried by restreaking three times on MRS agar
(without cycloheximide) to obtain pure cultures. Gram-positive
and catalase-negative isolates were maintained as liquid cultures
in MRS broth with 200 g L1 sterilized glycerol at 20  C for
subsequent identication (Bae, Fleet, & Heard, 2006; Coulin, Farah,
Assavo, Spillmann, & Puhan, 2006; Ozcangaz, 2000, p. 101; VieiraDalod et al., 2007).
2.2.3. Characterisation of isolates of LAB
A total of 312 isolates were identied by morphological, physiological and biochemical characterisation. Isolates were tested for
Gram reaction, catalase formation, cell morphology, CO2 production from glucose, ability to grow at 10  C and 45  C and at pH 4.4
and 9.6, tolerance to 65 g L1 and 180 g L1 salt, hydrolysis of
arginine, nitrate reduction, acetoin formation and MR-VP test.
Subsequently, API 50CH galleries and API CHL medium (BioMrieux, France) were used according to the manufacturers
instructions for determining the utilization of 49 carbohydrates of
isolated strains. APILAB PLUS database identication software
(BioMrieux, France) was used to interpret the results (Harrigan &
McCance, 1990, 452 pp.; Randazzo, Heilig, Restuccia, Giudici, &

38

H. Tanguler, H. Erten / LWT - Food Science and Technology 46 (2012) 36e41

Caggia, 2005; Tamang et al., 2005; Tamminen et al., 2004). All

results obtained by API were found between good identicationexcellent identication.
2.2.4. Analysis of pH and total acidity
pH was determined using a pH meter (Inolab WTW, Weilheim,
Germany). Total acidity was measured by titrating shalgam sample
upto pH 8.1 with 0.1 mol equi L1 NaOH using digital pH meter
(Inolab) and expressed as grams of lactic acid L1 (Demir, Acar,
Savas, & Baheci, 2004; Rozada-Snchez, Sattur, Thomas, &
Pandiella, 2008; Zorba et al., 2003).
3. Results and discussion
In this study, shalgam fermentations were carried out using
traditional method which consists of rst (dough) fermentation
and second (carrot or main) fermentation and growth and occurrence of LAB were examined.
3.1. Phenotypic characterisation
All LAB isolates were gram-positive, catalase-negative and
growth at pH 9.6. Of the total of 312 isolates obtained in the present
study, 271 isolates were rod shaped, 60 isolates produced gas from
glucose, 89 isolates hydrolysed arginin, 7 isolates used nitrate, 96
isolates were acetoin-positive, 244 isolates were MR-VP-positive,
228 isolates growth at 10  C, 279 isolates growth at pH 4.4, 226
isolates growth at 65 g L1 NaCl and none of the LAB strains growth
at 180 g L1 NaCl.

3.3. Final pH and total acidity levels during the rst (dough)
fermentation of shalgam
For shalgam A, pH value decreased from 5.68 at day 0 of rst
fermentation to 4.31 after 3 days of fermentation. Total acidity
content as lactic acid increased from 4.61 g kg1 at the beginning to
9.29 g kg1 at the end (results not shown). As expected, pH
decreased and total acidity increased during the rst fermentation.
Similar results for total acidity (8.05e11.9 g kg1) and pH
(4.01e5.01) were reported at the end of fermentation in previous
investigations using traditional method for shalgam production
(Canbas & Deryaoglu, 1993; Gunes, 2008, p. 48; Utus, 2008, p. 55).
3.4. Microbiological and physicochemical levels of extracts obtained
from rst (dough) fermentation

3.2. Occurrence and growth of LAB species during rst (dough)

fermentation
1

Total viable LAB count was 7.93 log cfu g at the beginning of
rst fermentation of shalgam A. After reaching a maximum
(8.59 log cfu g1), the number slightly declined to 7.86 log cfu g1 at
the end (results not given). The high populations of LAB at the
beginning of the fermentation were probably due to the raw
materials, especially sourdough ora. Similar high levels were reported by Aydar (2003), p. 35, Gunes (2008), p. 48 and Utus (2008),
p. 55 who found the total viable LAB levels ranged from 6.97 to
8.14 log cfu g1 at 0 day to 7.1e8.90 log cfu g1 at the end of rst
fermentation.
Fig. 1 shows the growth of lactic acid bacteria during the rst
fermentation, which was carried out for 3 days by mixing bulgur
our, salt, sourdough and adequate drinkable water to form dough
for the production of shalgam A made at the University Laboratory.

At the end of the rst fermentation for shalgam A, the dough

was extracted four times with water. Extracts obtained were
combined. Total viable population of LAB of combined extract for
shalgam A was 7.37 log cfu mL1. Its total acidity expressed as lactic
acid was 0.69 g L1 and pH was 5.15 (data not shown). Then, the
extract was added into tank containing chopped black carrots, rocksalt sliced turnip to carry out the second fermentation.
3.5. Occurrence and growth of LAB species during second (carrot)
fermentation
During the second fermentation, occurrence and growth of LAB
species were examined in shalgams both made at the University
laboratory (Shalgam A) and commercial production plants (Shalgams B and C). Population dynamics of total viable LAB are given in
Fig. 2.

9
8

Total acidi ty (g L-1) - pH

L actic aci d ba cte ria (lo g cfu g -1)

L. plantarum, L. paracasei subsp. paracasei and L. brevis, ranging

populations from 6.34 to 8.0 log cfu g1 were the dominant LAB in
rst fermentation of shalgam A at the beginning (Fig. 1).
L. plantarum and L. brevis continued to proliferate giving maximum
populations of 8.40 log cfu g1 and 7.5 log cfu g1, respectively on
day 2 but their numbers slightly declined to 7.71e5.73 log cfu g1,
respectively by day 3. L. paracasei subsp. paracasei grew and
survived in the fermentation of shalgam A with the highest number
6.78 log cfu g1 on day 3. Lower level (2.47 log cfu g1) of Pediococcus pentosaceus was present at the beginning and slight
decline was observed during the fermentation, giving
2.12 log cfu g1 at the end of fermentation. L. delbrueckii subsp.
delbrueckii was also isolated with the population of 1.67 log cfu g1
at the beginning of rst fermentation of shalgam A, but after its
slow initial proliferation, it died off on day 2 (Fig. 1).

7
6
5
4
3
2
1

9,5
9
8,5
8
7,5
7
6,5
6
5,5
5
0

0
0

10

Fermentation time (days)

Fermentation time (days)

Fig. 1. The growth of lactic acid bacteria during the rst fermentation of shalgam A.
(e,e) L. plantarum; (e>e) L. paracasei subsp. paracasei; (ee) L. delbrueckii subsp.
delbrueckii; (eAe) P. pentosaceus; (e:e) L. brevis.

Fig. 2. Population dynamics of total viable lactic acid bacteria during the second
fermentation of shalgams. A (e,e): Shalgam made at university laboratory; B
(e>e): Shalgam produced by large scale producer in industry; C (ee): Shalgam
produced by small scale producer in industry.

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

10

Fermentation time (days)

Lac tic ac id bac teria (log c fu m L-1)

Lac t ic ac id bac t eria (log c f u mL-1)

H. Tanguler, H. Erten / LWT - Food Science and Technology 46 (2012) 36e41

39

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

10

Fermentation time (days)

Fig. 3. The evolution of individual lactic acid bacteria during the second fermentation
of shalgam A. (e,e) L. plantarum; (e>e) L. paracasei subsp. paracasei; (ee) Lac.
lactis subsp. lactis; (ee) Leu. mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides; (ee) L. delbrueckii
subsp. delbrueckii; (e-e) L. fermentum; (eAe) P. pentosaceus; (e:e) L. brevis.

The total population of LAB rose steadily from the beginning of

fermentation with the counts of 7.47 log cfu mL1 for shalgam A,
8.21 log cfu mL1 for shalgam B and 7.26 log cfu mL1 for shalgam C.
Shalgam produced at the university laboratory reached the
maximum numbers of 9.01 log cfu mL1 on day 3, whereas shalgams B and C showed the highest numbers of 8.65 and
8.90 log cfu mL1, respectively on day 4. From then on, the populations remained almost constant and after day 6, the numbers
reduced to 7.34e8.23 log cfu mL1 at the end of fermentation with
the exception of shalgam A in which the counts slightly rose on day
10. Similar growth patterns were reported in previous studies by
Gunes (2008), p. 48 and Utus (2008), p. 55 who found the initial
total LAB counts between 7.31 and 7.95 log cfu mL1 and the last
counts in the range of 6.76e7.66 log cfu mL1 at the end of
fermentation.
The evolutions of individual LAB during the second fermentations of shalgams A, B, C are given in Figs 3e5, respectively.
L. plantarum and L. paracasei subsp. paracasei were the predominant LAB at the beginning of and throughout the all fermentations
(Figs. 3e5), but the growth of L. plantarum was stronger than that of
L. paracasei subsp. paracasei in all shalgam fermentations. L. plantarum
was recovered from 6.93 to 8.04 log cfu mL1 at the beginning to
7.19e8.17 log cfu mL1 at the completion of the experiment. It showed
the maximum populations of 8.54e8.83 log cfu mL1 on days 3 and 5
and achieved a long stationary phase in general. As L. plantarum did so,
L. paracasei subsp. paracasei exhibited a similar growth pattern and
survived into fermentation but with fewer counts. The numbers were

Lac t ic ac id bac teria (log c fu mL-1)

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

Fermentation time (days)

Fig. 4. The evolution of individual lactic acid bacteria during the second fermentation
of shalgam B. (e,e) L. plantarum; (e>e) L. paracasei subsp. paracasei; f (e-e)
L. fermentum.

Fig. 5. The evolution of individual lactic acid bacteria during the second fermentation
of shalgam C. (e,e) L. plantarum; (e>e) L. paracasei subsp. paracasei; (e:e)
L. brevis.

in the range of 6.64e7.71 log cfu mL1 on day 0 and in the range of
6.07e7.34 log cfu mL1 at the end in all fermentations.
The results of this study in which the main species isolated were
L. plantarum and L. paracasei subsp. paracasei conrm the previous
study of Arc (2004) who isolated the dominating species as
L. plantarum and L. paracasei subsp. paracasei in bottled shalgam
beverages sold at the market. L. plantarum subsp. arabinosus was also
isolated from shalgam fermentation (Erginkaya & Hammes, 1992).
There was stronger survival of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis in
shalgam A (Fig. 3) with lower amounts compared to growth of
L. plantarum and L. paracasei subsp. paracasei. It achieved maximum
counts of 5.63 log cfu mL1 at day 4 from 4.09 log cfu mL1 at day 0.
Lac. lactis exhibited long stationary growth and the numbers at the
end were 4.12 log cfu mL1. There is previously no report on the
occurrence of Lac. lactis in shalgam fermentations.
Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides (Fig. 3) and
L. delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii (Fig. 3) were each present at
3.12 log cfu mL1 and 3.22 log cfu mL1, respectively in the shalgam
A, but they did not grow and eventually died off by day 2. Pediococcus pentosaceaceus (Fig. 3) was only isolated at the beginning
of fermentation in shalgam A, but did not grow and died off.
So far, there have been no data on the evolution of Leu. mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides, P. pentosaceaceus, and L. delbrueckii
subsp. delbrueckii during shalgam fermentation. Leu. mesenteroides,
a heterofermentative LAB, predominates in the initial stage of
sauerkraut fermentation but it rapidly dies off with an increase in
the acid level of fermentation medium (Dellaglio, Dicks, & Torriani,
1995; Harris, 1998). P. pentosaceaceus (formerly Pediococcus cerevisiae), is a homofermantative LAB. It is associated with fermentations of pickled cucumbers, olives and sauerkraut (Simpson &
Taguchi, 1995). L. delbrueckii, an obligate homofermentative lactobacilli (Stiles & Holzapfel, 1997) may be the dominant bacterium in
the fermentation of olives but with much lower levels compared to
L. plantarum (Harris, 1998). However, in this study, they died off
without any multiplation. It is considered that the death of these
species during the early stages of shalgam fermentations is due to
their relative sensitivity to acidic and salty conditions.
L. fermentum was not isolated at the beginning of shalgam
fermentations. The appearance of L. fermentum after the
commencement of the fermentation occurred and it showed
signicant growth and survival with the maximum number of
7.18 log cfu mL1 in shalgam B on day 6 (Fig. 4). It was not isolated in
shalgam A by day 4. However, it was present with the maximum
level of 1.65 log cfu mL1 on day 5, but they did not grow and
eventually disappeared by day 10 in shalgam A and died off to
levels of 3.70 log cfu mL1 in shalgam B at the completion of the
experiment.

Tot al ac idit y (g L-1) - pH

40

H. Tanguler, H. Erten / LWT - Food Science and Technology 46 (2012) 36e41

Studies on selecting the most promising LAB isolated from present

study for industrial usage as starter culture are in progress.

9,00
8,00
7,00
6,00
5,00
4,00
3,00
2,00
1,00
0,00

Acknowledgements

10

Fermentation time (days)

Fig. 6. Development of total acidity and pH during the second fermentation of shalgams A: Shalgam made at university laboratory; B: Shalgam produced by large scale
producer in industry; C: Shalgam produced by small scale producer in industry. A: pH
(e-e), total acidity (e,e); B: pH (eAe), total acidity (e>e); C: pH (e:e), total
acidity (ee).

L. brevis was recovered from the beginning of fermentation of

shalgam A (2.25 log cfu mL1, Fig. 3) and shalgam C (6.7 log cfu mL1,
Fig. 5). It grew to maximum level of 2.84 and 7.96 log cfu mL1 in
shalgams A and C, respectively and survived with a long stationary
stage, exhibiting 2.22 cfu mL1 for shalgam A and 6.3 log cfu mL1
for shalgam C at the end of the fermentation.
L. fermentum and L. brevis are obligate heterofermentative
Lactobacillus and they were isolated from fermenting plant material
(Hammes & Vogel, 1995; Stiles & Holzapfel, 1997). These species
were also found in some shalgam fermentations in present study in
accordance with the data given by Erginkaya and Hammes (1992).
3.6. pH and total acidity changes during the second (carrot)
fermentation of shalgams
Development of total acidity and pH during the second
fermentation of shalgams is given in Fig. 6.
The concentration of total acidity expressed as lactic acid at the
beginning of fermentation was 0.82 g L1 in shalgam A made at the
University laboratory whereas its level at the commencing of
fermentation was determined to be 2.16 g L1 in shalgam B
produced in large scale plant and 1.36 g L1 in shalgam C made in
small scale plant. Total acidity of shalgams increased during the
fermentation. The concentration of total acidity of shalgam A
(8.27 g L1) was higher than that of shalgams B and C (6.81 and
8.12 g L1, respectively) at the completion of fermentations. pH
values dropped with an increase in acidity. pH levels were 4.98 in
shalgam A, 3.96 in shalgam B and 4.12 in shalgam C at day 0. At the
end of fermentation, pH values were measured as approximately
3.5. The progressive rise in total acidity and drop in pH during
fermentation are good parameters to monitor the development.
The total acidity and pH levels in this study are in good agreement
with the previous study of Canbas and Deryaoglu (1993).
4. Conclusions
This quantitative study has shown the LAB species involved in
the shalgam fermentations. The main species isolated in the
fermentations made at the university laboratory and large and
small scale production plants in industry are L. plantarum and
L. paracasei subsp. paracasei. Signicant growth of L. brevis and
L. fermentum was also observed during the fermentations
depending on the production plant. Leu. mesenteroides subsp.
mesenteroides, P. pentosaceaceus, and L. delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii were isolated at the beginning of fermentation but they did
not grow and died off eventually.
In conclusion, future directions of research should be performed
on microbiological and technological properties of shalgam in
details to obtain better product in terms of quality and stability.

The authors thank the Scientic and Technical Research Council

of Turkey (TUBITAK) (Project no: 106O670), Cukurova University
Academic Research Projects Unit (Project no: ZF2006BAP17 and
ZF2006D31) for their nancial support and Hacinin Salgami Co.
(Adana, Turkey) for providing raw materials for this study.
References
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