Development and Safety Validation of Dadih Powder: A Minangkabau Local-Source Probiotic Functional Food for Pregnant and Lactating Women

The first thousand days of a child's life, stretching from conception through the second birthday, represent a critical window where nutrition shapes a person's future health. During this time, a mother's diet must support not only her own body but also the rapid development of a fetus and the production of nutrient-rich breast milk. While science has long understood the importance of proteins and vitamins, a growing body of research suggests that the community of microscopic organisms living in the human gut, known as the microbiome, plays an equally vital role. These tiny residents help digest food, train the immune system, and protect against illness. For pregnant and nursing women, maintaining a healthy balance of these gut bacteria is essential, yet finding safe, reliable, and culturally appropriate ways to support this balance remains a challenge. Many modern solutions rely on expensive, mass-produced supplements that may not fit local dietary traditions or budgets.

In the Minangkabau region of West Sumatra, Indonesia, a traditional fermented milk product called dadih has been consumed for generations. Made by leaving fresh milk in bamboo tubes lined with banana leaves, the natural bacteria in the milk ferment the liquid, creating a tangy, yogurt-like food rich in beneficial microbes. However, this traditional version is fragile; it spoils quickly, varies wildly in quality from batch to batch, and can sometimes harbor harmful bacteria if the fermentation process is not perfectly controlled. These limitations have kept it from becoming a reliable nutritional tool for modern healthcare. Researchers set out to see if they could transform this ancient food into a stable, safe, and standardized powder that could be stored for long periods and used to support maternal health without losing its beneficial properties.

The team at Universitas Andalas and collaborating institutions began by collecting fresh milk from local cows and water buffalo, the traditional sources for dadih. They introduced a specific starter culture of beneficial bacteria to ensure a consistent and safe fermentation process, incubating the mixture at a controlled temperature for two days. Once the fresh dadih was ready, the researchers faced the difficult task of removing the water without killing the living bacteria inside. They used a specialized drying method that involved freezing the product and then removing the ice through a vacuum, followed by a final spray-drying step. This process turned the liquid milk into a fine powder, aiming to lock in the nutrients and the living microbes while making the product shelf-stable.

The resulting powders were remarkably dry, containing less than four percent moisture. This low water content is crucial because bacteria and molds need water to grow; by removing it, the researchers effectively put the spoilage organisms to sleep, allowing the powder to be stored for much longer than fresh dadih. When the scientists analyzed the nutritional content, they found the powder to be dense in protein, with the cow milk version containing nearly fifteen percent protein and the buffalo milk version containing nearly twelve percent. Both versions also provided a good amount of carbohydrates and minerals. The acidity of the original fermented milk was preserved in the powder, which helps maintain a stable environment that discourages harmful bacteria from taking hold.

To ensure the powder was safe for consumption, especially for vulnerable groups like pregnant women, the researchers subjected it to rigorous testing. They looked for dangerous pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli, which can cause severe illness. The tests came back clean; none of these harmful bacteria were found in either the cow milk or buffalo milk powders. They also checked for heavy metals like lead, mercury, and arsenic, which can sometimes contaminate food through soil or water. The analysis showed that these toxic elements were completely absent. The only microbes detected were the beneficial ones intended for the product, along with very low, safe levels of mold and yeast that did not pose a health risk.

Perhaps the most important test was to see if the beneficial bacteria could survive the journey through the human digestive system. When people eat probiotics, the bacteria must pass through the harsh, acidic environment of the stomach and then navigate the bile salts in the intestines before they can reach the gut and do their work. The researchers simulated this journey in the lab by exposing the powder to acidic fluids and bile salts. The results were encouraging: the bacteria remained alive and active. In the cow milk powder, about seventy-one percent of the bacteria survived the acid test, and in the buffalo milk powder, about seventy-five percent survived. When exposed to bile salts, the survival rates remained high, with the buffalo milk powder retaining nearly seventy-six percent of its bacteria and the cow milk powder retaining over seventy-three percent. This indicates that the powder acts as a protective shield, keeping the beneficial microbes alive until they reach the gut.

The study concludes that turning traditional dadih into a powder is a viable way to preserve its health benefits while solving the problems of spoilage and safety. The process successfully created a product that is nutritionally rich, free from dangerous contaminants, and capable of delivering live, beneficial bacteria to the human gut. While the researchers note that these findings are based on laboratory simulations and that further studies in humans are needed to confirm the health effects, the work provides a strong foundation for developing a standardized, local food source. This innovation offers a potential new tool to support the nutritional needs of mothers and children, bridging the gap between traditional wisdom and modern food safety standards.