Fermentation of African locust bean ( Parkia biglobosa) seeds: involvement of different species of Bacillus

Abstract

The species of Bacillus which appeared to be responsible for the fermentation of African locust bean seeds were found to be variable. In six separate fermentations, B. subtilis, B. pumilus and B. licheniformis were identified. Bacillus subtilis predominated in four of the fermentations and its growth appeared to be favoured by low oxygen tension. Lactic acid bacteria, Leuconostoc spp., which had been reported in large number and thus implicated in the fermentation by earlier workers were not observed.