ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROORGANISMS FROM FERMENTED AFRICAN OIL BEAN (PENTACLETHRA MACROPHYLLA)

ABSTRACT Fermentation is the change of substrate to a final product by means of chemical reaction involving microorganisms. It is one of the oldest ways of food processing. It is an operation carried out by using micro-organisms and their enzymes to achieve desirable quality characteristics of food and food products. Various types of microorganisms were isolated from fermented products of Pentaclethra macrophylla seeds. The fermented products are mainly served as food among populations in Nigeria. The total bacteria load in fermented Pentaclethra macrophylla seed was in average of 195.0±9.6 x 107cfu/g, while the total viable count of fungi cells show that Pentaclethra macrophylla seeds contained 3.3±1.5 x 102cfu/g. The bacteria flora species obtained include Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Enterobacter, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas and Escherichia. Fungi flora include Rhizopus, Penicillin, Aspergillus and Yeast species. They were characterized based on microscopy, colony features, biochemical reactions and sugar utilization. The result from this study confirmed that different microorganisms are associated in fermentation of Pentaclethra macrophylla seeds which serves as food to humans and livestock. Nevertheless, monitoring is required to investigate the effects of the fermenting microbes to human health.