Exploring African Fermented Foods: Microbial Folate Synthesis and Potential for In Situ Fortification

The present review explores recent scientific evidence on in situ folate fortification through African staple foods fermentation. Specifically, it highlights, folate-producing microorganisms isolated from these foods, conditions influencing folate production, and key factors determining the success or failure of this approach. Relevant studies were identified by searching literature in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar in order of preference. Fourteen studies on microbial folate synthesis with promising results were reported for five fermented cereal-based products from Africa: bensaalga, injera, ogi, motoho, and togwa. Since these fermented foods contained an interesting level of folate, their consumption could contribute to folate intake. In these studies, 29 microbial isolates, including 14 lactic acid bacteria strains and 15 yeast strains were identified as the most promising folate producers. Yeast strains produced varying amounts of folate, with differences observed between strains. Findings suggest that optimizing folate production in fermented foods requires cautious microbial strain selection, strategic strain combination, and optimum monitoring of parameters such as temperature and incubation time. Understanding these factors may help improve the effectiveness of microbial folate enrichment in local fermented foods, which could support increased dietary folate intake in African populations.