THE ANCIENT FOODS OF NORTH EASTERN STATE OF INDIA ‘MANIPUR'.

 INTRODUCTION:      

Fermentation is one of the oldest and most economical methods for producing and preserving foods. In addition to preservation, fermented foods can also have the added benefits of enhancing flavour, increased digestibility, improving nutritional value and pharmacological values. In Manipur, traditional fermented foods, viz. Hawaijar, Soibum/Soijim, Soidon, Ngari, Hentak, etc have been consumed as a regular food in different recipe over a long period of time.

FERMENTED FISH PRODUCTS:

Ngari : It is a popular traditional fermented fish product of Manipur which is eaten as a daily compulsory side dish called Ironba (mixed with potato, chilies, etc.) with cooked rice by all communities of people in Manipur and nearby states. In fish fermentation, the methods of preservation are traditionally used with cultural identity.

The microorganism found in ngari are Lactococcu plantarum and Lactobacillus plantarum, Bacillus subtilis, B.pumilus and Miocrococcus sp., Enterococcus faecium.

Hentak: It is a traditional fermented fish paste. During indigenous preparation process, the sun dried Esomus danricus are crushed to power. The petioles of Alocasia macrorhiza are cut into pieces washed with water and exposed to sunlight for an hour. An equal weight of the cut pieces is then crushed along with fish power to make a paste. Small balls are prepared and put in earthen pots and stored. After two weeks of fermentation, it is ready to use and are preserved. These become hardened on keeping for few months and are then propounded to paste with a little water and stored as balls for reserve food. (Jeyaran et al., 2009)

The microorganism found in hentak are Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, Candida sp.

FERMENTED BAMBOO SHOOT PRODUCTS:

Soibum: It is an indigenous fermented food, exclusively produced from succulent bamboo shoots (Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (Wanap/Unap/Pecha), D.sikkimensis and D. giganteus (Maribop), Melocana bambusoide (Moubi/Muli), Bambusa tulda (Utang), B. vulagaris, B. balcooa (Ching Saneibi) and B. pallia is consumed as an indispensable constituent of the diets, familiar with social customs of Manipur and neighboring states since time immemorial. In the traditional method, succulent bamboo shoot sprouts are defoliated, chopped, pressed tightly into the wooden or earthen pots to ferment for 6-12 months. Two types of Soibum preparations are documented in Manipur called Noney/Kwatha type and Andro type.

Noney/Kwatha type of preparation batch fermentation with more acidic taste is carried out in traditionally designed bamboo chamber. Traditional lining of bamboo chamber with forest leaves is now replaced with polythene sheet. The thin slices of the succulent and soft bamboo shoots are packed compactly into this chamber. After filling the chamber with the slices to its capacity, the upper surface is sealed with polythene sheet and weights are then put on top for proper pressing. The bottom of the chamber is perforated for draining acidic fermented juice during fermentation. The whole stuff is left for 6-12 months for solid-state fermentation.

Andro type of preparation of soibum is practised (only in Andro village) in the bulky roasted earthen pot by fed-batch fermentation. In this method, the practitioners fill a portion of the pot with the bamboo shoot slices and allow it for fermentation. When the fermentation occurs and the mash volume is reduced, additional quantity of fresh bamboo slices are added. After every addition of the slices, slight pressure is given with the hand. This process is repeated till the pot is filled with the bamboo shoot slices and allowed for fermentation (6-12 months).

The microorganism found in soibum are Enterococcus durans, Streptococcus lactis, B. subtilis, B. licheniformis, B. coagulans, Candida sp., Saccharomyces sp., Torulopsis sp.

Soidon : It is prepared from Teinostachyum wightii ( Nath ) apical meristem. The succulent tender apical meristems are harvested by shaking the bamboo shoots. The unwanted portions are removed and cut transversely into pieces. In traditional methods, the earthen pots are used. At present in most of the places, plastic containers and pots layered with polythene cover are used. Milky fermented soup of previous batch (1:1 dilution) is used as a starter for fermentation. This submerged fermentation in open plastic container is prolonged up to 5 days with intermittent stirring. In some cases, addition of Garcinia pendunculata (Heibung) as a acidifier had given the best quality products. Addition of rice washed water ( Chenghi ) improved the colour of soidon.                      

FERMENTED SOYBEAN PRODUCTS:

Hawaijar: It is a traditional fermented soybean food for Manipur. In traditional preparation, medium and small sized soybean seeds are boiled, washed with hot water and packed tightly in a small bamboo basket having lid with a base layer of Ficus hispida (Assee heibong) or banana plant leaves. The basket is then kept near to stove or layered gunny bags for maintaining above ambient temperature. The palatable stage of fermented soybean is noticed within 3 to 5 days. Ammonia odour and mucilage fiber production are the indicators of good quality products.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF MICROORGANISMS INVOLVED IN THE ABOVE FERMENTED FOODS:

Bacillus subtilis:   Spores are being used for oral bacteriotherapy and bacterioprophylaxis of gastrointestinal disorders in both humans and animals.

Probiotics, or "friendly bacteria," are becoming increasingly available to the public as beneficial functional foods that purport to promote specific health benefits to consumers. In some countries probiotics are available for oral bacteriotherapy and bacterioprophylaxis of gastrointestinal disorders in humans. Often these disorders, many of which lead to diarrhea, are a direct result of antibiotic use, which produces an imbalance in the composition of the normal intestinal microbial flora.

Lactobaccilus plantarum: Healthy digestion and nutritional support: Lp 299v, among many other gut flora, plays an essential role in general digestion and nutritional absorption. It metabolizes sugars and fibers into vital nutrients such as SCFAs, polyamines, vitamins, antioxidants and amino acids. They are the primary nutrients for colonocytes and are essential for general gastrointestinal health and function.

Immune health: Lp 299v not only benefits the general health of the gastrointestinal tract, but also the immune system. Healthy colonization of Lp 299v alters cytokine, immune cells (T-cells, macrophages, and antibody producing cells) and metabolic profiles in the intestine, which positively affects immune function. Some studies have indicated that the positive effects on immune function may also promote enhanced memory and learning behavior. In addition, the presence of beneficial bacteria can stimulate the expression of certain proteins and factors on cell membranes that change the cell–cell and cell–particle interactions in the gut and surrounding tissues.

Enterococcus Faecium

The benefits of maintaining a healthy balance of the microflora in our guts cannot be overstated. Many societies continue to use probiotics for treatment of ailments and symptoms, rather than antibiotics. It was only in the mid twentieth century, when antibiotics became fairly cheap that physicians began regularly prescribing them. Now, scientists are concerned that antibiotic resistant bacterial agents may be able to out-mutate our antibiotic regimens. This makes keeping our guts healthy, with a proper bacterial microbiome containing plentiful colonies of non-pathogenic microflora, even more important.

CONCLUSION

Traditional fermented foods of Manipur are prepared at the house hold level through the indigenous practices of food processing and preservation. There is a need of awareness about basic hygienic knowledge of production for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and safety of the marketed food products as per HACCP system are the major issues to be focused with immediate attention. Due to huge domestic demand eg. ngari, some traditional producers started using urea to speed up the fermentation process.