Abstract

Popcorn and groundnut composite flours were fermented by solid substrate fermentation method for 96 h. The following isolates were isolated from the fermentation; Staphylococcus sp., Lactobacillus fermentum, Bacillus sp., Aspergillus sp., Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhizopus nigricans and Penicillium sp. There was decrease in pH with increase in titratable acidity (TTA) in all the samples. The result of the proximate analysis revealed that the protein content of the fermented samples was between 7.92 to 18.13% compared to the unfermented samples (popcorn flour 7.49% and groundnut flour 24.69%). There was increase in fat and crude fibre contents and decrease in carbohydrate and ash contents of the fermented samples. The mineral analysis result showed that the level of potassium in all the samples increased markedly while there were marked reduction in the levels of magnesium and calcium in all the samples. The effect of fermentation on the antinutritional content showed that there was a decrease in phytic acid and tannin contents and an increase in oxalates content in some fermented samples.

Key words: Popcorn flour, groundnut flour, solid-state fermentation, nutrient, antinutrient.