Protein enrichment of Cassava with yeast for garri production.

Abstract

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains PWO2A, PWO3C and PWO3D isolated from palm wine were used to enrich cassava for garri production. During the fermentation process, there were changes in microbiological and biochemical characteristics of the cassava mash. The total viable bacterial counts increased from 2.7 102 cfu/g to 4.2 102cfu/g for the enriched cassava mash after 48 hours while that of the unenriched increased from 2.7 101cfu/g to 3.0 101 after 24 hours and then decreased to 2.5 101cfu/ g after 48 hours. The fungi counts of the enriched cassava ranged from 3.5 102cfu/g to 6.8102cfu/g while the fungi counts of the unenriched sample ranged from 2.5101cfu/g to 2.9101cfu/g. Various bacterial species (Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Corynebacterium, Escherichia), moulds (Aspergillus, Fusarium, Mucor, Rhizopus) and yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida sp) were found to be associated with the fermentation process and probably contributed to the reduction of cyanide content of the cassava. The enriched garri had a protein content of 7.6% while the unenriched had a protein content of 6.3%. It was observed that commercially prepared garri had a protein content of 4.0%. Generally, good acceptability and organoleptic qualities (taste, aroma, colour, texture) of the protein enriched garri were best achieved within 48hours of enrichment. The results suggest that garri can be made more nutritious with yeasts particularly Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains PW02A, PW03C and PW03D.