Abstract
Fermentation of foods has been practiced for improving the flavor, texture and palatability of foods. Fermentation also leads to an increase in protein content, enhancement of carbohydrate accessibility, decrease of antinutritional factors like tannin and phytic acid. This study was carried out to determine the effect of fermentation on the physicochemical, antinutrients and nutritional composition with the aim of producing flour from Pearl millet (Sosart 1). Sterile millet grains were inoculated with <i>Lactobacillus plantarum</i> using a 0.5 McFarland standard while a different batch of millet grains were steeped in water without an inoculum; they were allowed to ferment for 4 days. The pH values of the fermenting samples were analyzed daily. Results obtained showed that the pH values for starter and natural fermentation were between 3.64-3.48 and 4.94-4.55 respectively. These were accompanied with a gradual increase in total titratable acidity with values of 0.090- 0.819 and 0.317- 0.756 for both starter and natural fermentation respectively. Evaluation of grain anti-nutritional composition showed that the phytate and tannin were significantly decreased by fermentation. The nutritional compositions of the grains were also improved by fermentation resulting in protein and moisture content increase. Fermentation has proved to have a potential to improve protein and decrease antinutrient contents of pearl millet for production of flour. This can be incorporated in the formulation of weaning foods and production of confectioneries for both children and adults.
Highlights
Cereal grains are the most important source of the world’s food and have a significant role in human diet throughout the world
It was observed that the pH values of the fermented samples were acidic at the 0hour (5.00 and 5.75) for starter and natural fermented millet grains, but became more acidic as fermentation progressed from 0hour to 96 hours (Table 1)
The pH value of the starter fermented sample decreased as the fermentation progressed from 0hour to 96 hours
Summary
Cereal grains are the most important source of the world’s food and have a significant role in human diet throughout the world. Pearl millet is currently the world’s sixth most important cereal grain and is grown extensively in Africa, Asia, India and the Near East as a food grain and is the staple source of the nutrition for millions of people [1]. It serves as a major food component in various traditional foods and beverages such as bread, porridges and snack foods, among the non-affluent segments in their respective societies [2]. Household fermentation technologies have been upgraded to an industrial scale in order to provide value added products that meet urban population demand for traditional products [6]
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