Abstract
This research was carried out to know the effect of fermentation on the chemical composition, anti-nutrient content, pH, titratable acidity, and microbiological changes of breadfruit and cowpea blend. Breadfruit and cowpea composite flours were mixed in gram of six combinations as follows: BcA = 100:0, BcB = 90:10, BcC = 80:20, BcD = 70:30, BcE = 60:40, BcF = 50:50 and subjected to natural fermentation for 72 h. The following isolates were isolated from the fermentation; Lacobacillus fermentum, L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. plantarum, L. dextranicum, L. rhamnosus, L. delbrueckii, L. leichemanii, L. divergens, L. reuteri, L. jenseni, L. casei, L. salivarius, L. cellubiosus, Leuconostoc messenteroide and Pediococcus acidilactis, of which L. plantarum was the most dominant the throughout the period of fermentation. There was decrease in pH with increase in total titratable acidity (TTA) in all the samples. The result of the proximate analysis revealed a marginal increase in crude protein content of each sample (from 3.80 to 4.43%, from 5.83 to 6.47%, from 7.87 to 8.49%, from 9.90 to 10.53%, 11.93 to 12.56% and from 14.12 to 19.14%). There was increase in fat and crude fibre contents and decrease in carbohydrate and ash contents of the fermented samples. Results from this research also show significant reduction in anti-nutritional content which are hydrogen cyanide, oxalate and phytate, but hydrogen cyanide was not detected in the fermented sample BcF (50:50). Key words: Breadfruit flour, cowpea flour, natural fermentation, nutrient, antinutrient.
Highlights
Numerous food products owe their production and characteristics to the fermentative activities of microorganisms
This research was carried out to know the effect of fermentation on the chemical composition, antinutrient content, pH, titratable acidity, and microbiological changes of breadfruit and cowpea blend
A total of 20 bacteria were isolated from the samples before and after fermentation as shown in Table 1a and b
Summary
Numerous food products owe their production and characteristics to the fermentative activities of microorganisms. Breadfruits just like some other legumes have been known to contain some anti-nutrients which interfere with digestive processes and prevent efficient utilization of their proteins. Some of these are protease inhibitors, heamagglutinin, lectins, saponins and flatulence factors (Osabor et al, 2009). Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) (International Feed Number, 5-01-661) is one of several species of the widely cultivated genus Vigna It is one of the most important food legume crops in the semi-arid tropics covering Asia, Africa, southern Europe and Central and South America. Protein quality is synergistically improved in cereal-legume blends because of the lysine contributed by the cowpea and methionine contributed by the cereals (Afoakwa et al, 2003)
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