Microbial Flora of "Airag", a Traditional Fermented Milk of Inner-Mongolia in China

The isolation and phenotypical identification of microorganisms in "Airag", a traditional fermented milk of Inner-Mongolia in China, were carried out. The samples of the "Airag" contained lactic acid bacteria and yeasts at 105-107 cells/ml and 104-106 cells/ml, respectively. From the same sample it was isolated two species of lactic acid bacteria and two species of yeast strains. The lactic acid bacteria isolates were taxonomically divided into two species of Lactobacii, i. e., Lactobacilus brevis and Lb. curvatus. About 75% of the isolated stocks were estimated to be Lb. brevis, and the remaining 25% were estimated to be Lb. curvatus. Among the isolated yeast stocks, about 56% were estimated to be Saccharomyces globosus, and 44% of them estimated to be Brettanomyces anomalus. By referring to literatures, the composition of microbial flora in "Airag" was different from that the in "Edosunnsuu", a natural fermented milk produced in the same area of China. The origin of the microbial flora in "Airag" was also discussed.