Ethnobotanical perspectives of Bakhar: an indigenous starter culture used to prepare traditionally fermented rice beverage in rural West Bengal, India

Abstract

Abstract Haria, a fermented rice beverage, is commonly consumed as a traditional drink by the tribal people of rural West Bengal. This beverage is prepared by fermenting steamed rice with the starter culture tablets, known as Bakhar. It is known that some plant parts are added during Bakhar preparation that confer certain ethnomedicinal properties to the beverage as well as to Bakhar itself. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted that allowed documenting the traditional knowledge regarding this ethnic beverage preparation and it reveals that 10 plant species and one lichen species are used by the Santal tribe to prepare the Bakhar. Among them, roots of Kedar, Chaoli, rhizome of Bach, and bark of Lodh plants are essential, while other plant parts are used due to their specific taste, flavor, and therapeutic properties. But nowadays little or no plant additives are used during commercial Haria preparation for cost-effectiveness. Homemade and commercially produced Haria were investigated for their nutritional quality which revealed that homemade beverage contains more bioactive compounds, such as ascorbic acid (15.40 mg/100 ml) and flavonoids (36.67 mg/100 ml), which contribute toward the antioxidant property of the beverage. This current study documents the important medicinal plants used in the starter culture, the detailed process of Bakhar and Haria preparation, and the nutritional quality of Haria highlighting its ethnomedicinal properties.

Keywords

• Food culture
• Cultural heritage
• Ethnomedicine
• Starter culture
• Beverage