Application of microbial enzymes in the mashing of nigerian millet and sorghum malts

Abstract

Thermophilic bacilli and mesophilic fungi were isolated from different compost and soil samples. The highest number of amylolytic Bacillus spp., 2·2 × 10 8 cfu/g, was obtained from grassland soil while the highest number of mesophilic fungi, 1·0 × 10 7 cfu/g, was obtained from compost material. Eight selected isolates of both bacilli and fungi were used in enzyme production by a submerged fermentation method. Highest amylase activity, 18·75 ± 0·79 U (a productivity of 2·60 U/l per h) for a bacillus was obtained from isolate B 16, while fungal isolate F 11, identified as Aspergillus sp., exhibited the highest amylase activity of 9·21 ± 0·25 U, (a productivity of 1·28 U/l per h). The use of crude enzymes obtained from both microorganisms combined in equal ratios in mashing sorghum and millet showed that their influence was more pronounced in sorghum than in millet.