NATURAL FERMENTATION OF LENTILS - INFLUENCE OF TIME, CONCENTRATION AND TEMPERATURE ON THE KINETICS OF HYDROLYSIS OF INOSITOL PHOSPHATES

Lentil (Lens culinaris var vulgaris) flour was naturally fermented for 96 h at various conditions of concentration (79, 150 and 221 g litre( -1)) and temperature (28 degrees C, 35 degrees C and 42 degrees C). Th e content of total inositol phosphates (IP-total) and individual inosi tol phosphates (hexa- (IP6), penta- (IP5), tetra- (IP4) and tri- (IP3) phosphates) were analysed to establish the changes of these compounds during natural fermentation of lentils. The preparation of the lentil suspension brought about 16-27% reduction of the total inositol phosp hates. At the end of 96 h of natural fermentation maximum IP loss (70- 75%) was achieved for an experiment carried out at minimum concentrati on. For IP6, the largest decrease was achieved at the highest temperat ure, the fermentation condition that also brought about the highest IP 5 content.