Effect of Varying Fermentation Temperature on the Microbial Population of African Oil Bean Seeds (Pentaclethra Macrophylla- Benth)

Abstract

The microbiological and biochemical studies were investigated on the African Oil Bean Seeds (Pentaclethra macrophylla -Benth) fermented under three temperature regimes 8 0 C, 26 0 C and 33 0 C subjected to 0-144 hours fermentation period. The results revealed that the following bacterial isolates were present at time of the fermentation process namely Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Corynebacterium sp., Micrococcus varians, Staphylococcus sp., Alcaligenes viscolactis and Citrobacter sp. The fungal isolates found in the fermenting samples are Mucor sp., Aspergillus sp., and Penicillium sp. These fungal isolates may have been introduced by chance. The sample under room temperature (26 0 C) had the highest count of 1.03 x 10 5 cfu/g while the samples under low temperature (8 0 C) had the lowest count of 8.3 x 10 5 cfu /g. The results also revealed that the Bacillus sp. were the dominant bacterial isolates throughout the fermentation process. Therefore pure starter culture of Bacillus sp. and other relevant microbes in fermentation of foods should be developed.