Abstract

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Akamu, is produced by spontaneous fermentation of maize grains by mixed microbial activities. It is consumed by adults and children as breakfast meals and also serves as a weaning diet especially for the low income earners. This work aimed at producing akamu from White and Yellow maize grains determining the effect of processing methods (Changed and unchanged steep water) on the nutrient status of the akamu. White and yellow varieties of maize grains purchased from local sellers at Ubani Main Market, Umuahia, Abia State were sorted, washed and steeped in rain water in two sets for spontaneous fermentation for 48 hrs. For one set, the steep water was not changed throughout the period of fermentation while for the other set, the steep water was changed every 24 hrs. 1ml of the steep water from each set-up was serially diluted every 24 hrs and 0.1 ml aliquots of appropriate dilution was inoculated by spread plate method on suitable media. Plates for the isolation of bacteria were incubated at at 35oC for 24 hrs while the plates for isolation of fungi were incubated at 22oC for 5 days. The isolates were characterized and identified using standard procedures. The pH, Titratable acidity and temperature were also determined every 24 hrs. The proximate composition namely moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, ash and carbohydrate were determined using standard methods. The bacterial isolates are Lactobacillus species, L. plantarum, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aurues while the fungal isolates include Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Mucor alternaria and Aspergillus flavus. At the end of the fermentation, only the bacteria: Lactobacillus species, L. plantarum, Bacillus subtilis and the yeast: Saccharomyces cerevisiae were isolated from the akamu. The crude protein (9.25 and 9.23), carbohydrate (75.30 and 74.80) and fibre (3.15 and 3.22) of the akamu produced from the unchanged water samples were significantly higher than those from the changed water samples for both yellow and white maize samples respectively. This research shows that akamu produced from unchanged steep water has higher carbohydrate, protein and fibre contents than that made from changed steep water. It’s also higher in acidity than its counterpart. No significant difference in the microbial and proximate composition of akamu was recorded between the two varieties of maize used.

Keywords: Akamu, maize varieties, fermentation, microorganisms, proximate composition