Biochemical Changes during the Fermentation of Baobab (Adansonia digitata) Fruit Pulp Yoghurt

This study was conducted to assess biochemical changes during the fermentation of Adansonia digitata fruit pulp Yoghurt. The Baobab fruit pulp Yoghurt was prepared in the Laboratory using the conventional method. Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus were used as starter cultures while a control was produced without the starter cultures. The chemical composition, nutritional content and enzyme activity of the Baobab fruit pulp Yoghurt were determined during its fermentation period at every three hour interval using standard procedures. The proximate composition of the test Baobab fruit pulp yoghurt was 75.72 – 77.52% Moisture, 5.43 – 7.16% Protein, 4.86 – 5.85% Fat, 0.72 – 0.99 Ash, 0.67 – 0.95% Fibre and 8.98 – 10.78% carbohydrate. At the end of fermentation time, there was significant difference between the test and control Baobab fruit pulp yoghurt at 5% level of significance. The levels of Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Sodium (Na), Magnesium (Mg) and Potassium (K) were found to be in the range of 4.8 – 16.3 mg/ml, 0.4 – 1.2mg/ml, 3.0 – 5.9mg/ml, 19.9 – 25.3mg/ml and 3.0 – 4.0mg/ml respectively. The activity of the enzyme Amylase, Protease and Lipase measured in unit/ml were found to be in the range of 1.30 – 5.33, 0.00 – 5.69 and 0.89 – 2.31 respectively. The results of proximate analysis and mineral determination showed that the product is chemically and nutritionally rich. The addition of Baobab fruit pulp improved the quality of the Yoghurt. Baobab fruit pulp Yoghurt is therefore recommended for human consumption based on its good chemical and nutritional quality.