Abstract
Microbiology, proximate and functional properties of flour produced from three different varieties (TMS 1371, TME 419 and TMS 92/0326) of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) were investigated in this research work. The flour was subjected to microbial, proximate and functional analyses. Microbial analysis was carried out using pour plate technique and the agar used were nutrient agar for bacteria count and isolation while malt extract agar was used for fungi count and isolation. Proximate and functional analyses were done using standard methods. Results obtained showed that bacterial count (cfu/mL) of each flour ranging from 5.33 x 10^1 (TME 419) to 7.67 x 10^1 (TMS 92/0326) was higher than the fungi count (sfu/mL) which ranged from 0.66 x 10^1 (TMS 92/0326) to 4.0 x 10^1 (TMS 1371). The bacteria identified were Lactobacillus sp. which were present in all the flours and Bacillus sp. which was only present in flour obtained from TME 419 and TMS 92/0326. The only fungus present in all the flour was Rhizopus sp. The proximate values of flour from TMS 1371 showed that the moisture content (11.44%), ash (1.11%), fat (6.93%) and crude protein (7.46%) were higher when compared with flour from TME 419 and TMS 92/036. However, carbohydrate (69.05%) and crude fibre (7.41%) were higher in TME 419 and TMS 92/036. Also, TMS 92/0326 flour was higher in dispensability (59.94 mL), swelling capacity (5.18%) and solubility index (9.26) while bulk density (10/25.20 g/mL) was higher in TMS 1371. Despite variations in values, results from this study showed that the proximate and functional properties of flour obtained from each variety still conformed to the minimum requirements of high quality cassava flour.
Highlights
For the past decades, increasing population, urbanization and change in food habit has led to an increased demand for wheat-based convenient food in many developing countries (Eriksson et al, 2013)
Cassava flour produced from TMS 1371 had a bacteria count of 5.67 × 101 cfu/mL and a fungi count of 4.00 × 101 sfu/mL
The respective bacteria and fungi counts of flour produced from TME 419 were 5.33 × 101 cfu/mL and 1.00 × 101 sfu/mL, respectively
Summary
For the past decades, increasing population, urbanization and change in food habit has led to an increased demand for wheat-based convenient food in many developing countries (Eriksson et al, 2013). Oladele and Makinde led to an interest in cassava flour as a partial substitute for wheat flour. There are different varieties of cassava in Nigeria. They can be distinguished by their morphological characteristics such as leaf size, colour and shape, branching habit, colour of stem and petiole, tuber shape and colour, time to maturity and yield (IITA, 1999). Examples of the improved varieties bred in IITA are TMS/4(2)1425, TMS 82/00058, TMS 91/02324, TMS 92/0057, TMS 92/0067, TMS 92/0325, TMS 92/0326, TMS 94/0026, TMS 94/0039, TMS94/0561, TMS 95/0166, TMS 95/0289, TMS 95/0379, TMS 96/0523, TMS 96/0603, TMS 96/1632, TMS 96/1642, TMS 97/0162, TMS 97/0211, TMS 97/2205, TMS 98/2101, TMS 98/2226, TMS 99/2123, TMS 99/3073, etc. (IITA, 1999)
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