Organic Metabolites, Alcohol Content, and Microbial Contaminants in Sorghum-based Native Beers Consumed in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Nigeria

Aim: To determine the alcohol content, organic metabolites generated as well as microorganisms present in native beers.

Study Design: The work is descriptive.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry, University of Jos: May 2017- June 2017.

Methodology: Alcohol content, metabolites produced and microbes present in samples by applying gravity, mass spectrometric and microbial methods respectively.

Results: Results obtained indicated the presence of hexadecanoic acid, oleic acid, sulfurous acid, ethyl docosanoate, and 9 – octadecanone in both Burukutu and Pito samples. However they differed in some metabolites thus: in Burukutu, trifluoroacetic acid, 2-methyl nonadecane, 2-tetradecen-1-ol, pentanoic acid, 1-heptacosanol, cyclotetradecene, docosanoic acid and chloroformate. In Pito, dichloroacetic, pentadecanoic acid,1-hexadecanol,1-tetracosanol, methyl tetradecanoate, cyclobutan carboxylic acid, 3-heptanoic acid, cyclobutane, butyl ester, 2-decen-1-ol. Results also showed the mean alcohol content of Burukutu and Pito at 4.88% (v/v) and 3.35% (v/v) respectively. Microbial analysis of the samples indicated the presence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes and Escherichia coli.

Conclusion: Native beers contain ethyl alcohol, undesirable metabolites which might contribute to alcohol toxicity and also presence of pathogenic microbes which predisposedrinkers to their infections.