Nutritional Evaluation of the Starchy Flour Obtained from Cassava Tubers on Fermentation with a Mixed-Culture Inoculum

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 766 - 770
• Main Authors: Padmaja, G, George, Mathew, Moorthy, S. N, Bainbridge, Zoe, Plumb, Vanessa, Wood, J. F, Powell, C. J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01.03.1994
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Corynebacterium; Food industries; Fruit and vegetable industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Lactobacillus; Manihot esculenta; Streptococcus; Proteins; Aminoacid; Antinutrient factor; Quality; Nutritive value; Chemical composition; Extraction; Cassava meal; Fermentation; Digestibility
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/jf00039a033

Cassava fermentation improves its textural qualities and reduces the level of toxic cyanogenic glucosides. A mixed-culture inoculum comprising Lactobacillus sp., Streptococcus sp., Corynebacterium sp., and yeasts provided fermentation of cassava tubers was found to be self-sustaining and to yield fermented flour having good puffing quality as well as low cyanide content. The nutritional quality of the fermented flour (sour and sweet) studied in comparison to the nonfermented cassava flour indicated that there was a decrease of 32% in the crude protein in sour flour and 69% in sweet flour. The ether extractive fraction increased by 26% in sour flour while there was tremendous reduction in ash content in fermented flours. Although there was a decrease in all of the amino acids in the sour and sweet flours, the decrease in arginine, histidine, and glutamic acid was quite noticeable. Despite the decrease in all amino acids in sweet flour, the protein quality based on the essential amino acid scores in sweet flour appeared to be good. Sucrose, glucose, and fructose were the prominent sugars in nonfermented flour. Fermentation was found to reduce the sucrose content significantly. There was no significant difference in in vivo digestibility of fermented and nonfermented flours. The study indicated the need for proper fortification of fermented flour with proteins and minerals to upgrade its food value.