Development of a fermented rice product (Pachoi): Evaluation of vitamin and mineral composition, microbiological investigation and shelf-life stability

In Northeast India, fermented rice consumption is very much popular. However, there is an absence of proper scientific literature dealing with this rice product in particular. Pachoi is a traditional fermented rice product commonly consumed by Bengali Muslim community in Assam, India. In this study, Pachoi was prepared in two ways utilizing ahu kalogoria rice and were assigned as FRP1(traditional) and FRP2(optimized). This study was aimed to examine the minerals, vitamin B levels, biochemical constituents, microbiological count, and shelf-life of the rice products viz. FRP1 and FRP2. It is examined that FRP2 exhibits greater shelf stability than FRP1. Both varieties showed significantly higher magnesium concentrations after fermentation, with values of 23.66 ± 0.47 ppm and 23.29 ± 0.06 ppm, compared to the control samples FRP1 and FRP2 before fermentation, which had magnesium levels 14.04 ± 1.04 and 14.37 ± 0.56 ppm respectively. Among the B-complex vitamins, Vitamin B5 exhibited the highest concentration, with values of 90.171 ± 0.21 ppm and 92.568 ± 1.43 ppm respectively in both fermented samples. Magnesium plays a crucial role in muscle and nerve function, energy production, and bone health, while vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) is essential for synthesizing coenzymes, supporting metabolism, and maintaining healthy skin and hormone levels. In FRP1 and FRP2, lactic acid bacterial count after 24 h period was observed as 6.16 ± 0.16 log₁₀CFU/g and 10.65 ± 0.20 log₁₀CFU/g. The highest total plate count was reported on the 12th day in both samples, 9.43 ±.0.20 log₁₀CFU/g in FPR1 and 9.38 ± 0.13 log₁₀CFU/g in FRP2. Experimental study revealed that the amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates decreased with the increase of fermentation period. After increasing for a while, the total microbial, yeast, and mold counts begins to decline. The coliform count was detected in FRP1 and FRP2 on day 36th and day 39th respectively.