The Potential of Fermented Food from Southeast Asia as Biofertiliser

Abstract

The intensive amount of chemical usage in agricultural practices could contribute to a significant impact on food safety issues and environmental health. Over-usage of chemical fertilisers may alter soil characteristics and contaminate water sources, leading to several human and animal health issues. Recently, there have been efforts to use microbial biofertilisers as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practice in the common household of Southeast Asia. Traditionally, this method tends to utilise leftover food materials and readily available bacterial cultures, such as yoghurt drinks, and ferment them under a specific period in either solid or liquid form. So far, most of the testimonial-based feedbacks from local communities have been positive, but only limited information is available in the literature regarding the usage of biofertiliser fermented food (BFF). Previously, raw food waste has been used in the agriculture system to promote plant growth, however, the functional role of fermented food in enhancing plant growth have yet to be discovered. An understanding of the symbiotic relationship between fermented food and plants could be exploited to improve agricultural plant production more sustainably. Fermented food is known to be rich in good microbial flora (especially lactic acid bacteria (LAB)). LAB exist in different sources of fermented food and can act as a plant growth-promoting agent, improving the nutrient availability of food waste and other organic materials. Therefore, in this review, the potential use of seafood-based, plant-based, and animal-based fermented food as biofertiliser, especially from Southeast Asia, will be discussed based on their types and microbial and nutritional contents. The different types of fermented food provide a wide range of microbial flora for the enrichment of proteins, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals content in enhancing plant growth and overall development of the plant. The current advances of biofertiliser and practices of BFF will also be discussed in this review.

Fermented foods as alternative functional foods during post-pandemic in Asia

“…The Thai people, who have been fermenting food wastes like eggshell, onion skin, and banana skin for decades after washing the leaves, seeds, roots, and soil of their plant with encouraging results, are an example of how the future of fermented foods remains relevant as biofertilizers once COVID-19 stabilizes (Mohd Zaini et al, 2022). Other significant future prospects are in gene transfer (Wang, Wu et al, 2022), diarrheal disease management (Olayanju et al, 2022), respiratory health (Kesika et al, 2022), and Alzheimer's disease (Kumar et al, 2022).…”

Nutritional and therapeutic benefits of coconut milk and its potential as a plant-based functional yogurt alternative: a review

“…Bulgaricus is lactic acid, and secondary compounds like acetaldehyde, acetone, acetoin, and diacetyl can also be formed in very small amounts [84] . Due to its distinctive bioactive components and the presence of a live and active culture, LAB also offers extra health advantages beyond nutrient requirements [85] . Numerous studies show that probiotics used in yoghurt have strong antipathogenic and anti-inflammatory properties [86] .…”

Characterization of Liquid Organic Fertilizer (LOF) Derived from Unmarketable Vegetables and Fruits

“…A plant can only use nutrients to the level of its extraction capacity and during its growth period. Thus, when fertilizers are applied untimely and excessively, the unused or unabsorbed remainders have the propensity to alter soil physicochemical characteristics, leach deep into groundwater under intensive rain or irrigation, and contaminate water sources, resulting in several human and animal health issues (Ibrahim et al, 2014;Mohd Zaini et al, 2022). Another crucial factor is the manufacturing of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) chemical fertilizers, resulting in waste contaminating soil and water resources.…”

“…Additionally, intensive chemical usage for the long term in agricultural practices could significantly impact food safety issues and environmental health, such as acidifying or salinizing soils, which imposes huge costs of soil amendments (Mohd Zaini et al, 2022). Though chemical fertilizers are essential for enhancing crop productivity, they are among the most expensive agricultural supplies due to the high manufacturing costs associated with using imported inputs; thereby, they are unaffordable to poor farmers (da Silva et al, 2015).…”