Effect of Starter Culture on the Fatty Acid and Amino Acid Profile of Fermented Parkia biglobosa Seeds

Abstract

Iru , a condiment used for seasoning soup is often obtained from the fermentation of Parkiabiglobosa seeds. The present study therefore investigates the effect of different starter culture on the amino and fatty acid profile of Parkiabiglobosa seed fermented to produce iru. Starter culture of Lactobacillus plantarum, Bacillus subtilis and Leuconostoc sp were used to ferment Parkiabiglobosa seeds. The bacterial load increased from 0.00 log10cfu/g in boiled raw sample to 8.67 log10cfu/g in naturally fermented sample. Fermentation significantly (P<0.05) increased the quantity of the amino acids in fermented samples. Aspartic acid (25.85 g/100g) and linoleic acid (42.99 %) were the highest amino and fatty acids respectively in the fermented samples. The result from this study reveals that fermentation significantly increase the amino and fatty acid profile of Parkiabiglobosa fermented to produce iru, a Nigerian condiment.