Starter culture development for the production of ‘Owoh’

C. R. Falegan and O. M. David*

Department of Microbiology, University of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria P.M.B. 5363, Ado-Ekiti (Nigeria)

ABSTRACT: Species of Bacillus were earlier reported to be responsible for the fermentation of ‘owoh’, a fermented product of cottonseeds. Out of the three species (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus lichenliformis and Bacillus pumilus) screened Bacillus subtilis was discovered to produce the best quality ‘owoh’. To develop a starter culture, Bacillus subtilis isolated from different condiments: ‘Iru’, ‘soy-iru’, ‘ogiri’ and ‘owoh’ were used to ferment ‘owoh’ in the laboratory. The proximate analysis and sensory evaluation test were used to assess the quality of the final products. Bacillus subtilis from ‘iru’, used as a single starter culture, produced ‘owoh’ with highest amount of dry matter (71.5g/100g), ash, and soluble protein with 15.27 and 45.5g/100g of dry sample respectively. The naturally fermented ‘owoh’ produced the least protein content (30.87g/100g of dry matter). The pH of the fermented product ranged from 5.10 to 7.30 and Bacillus subtilis from ‘iru’ produced owoh with the least value, 5.10. The general acceptability of ‘owoh’ produced by Bacillus subtilis from ‘iru’ was highest (3.22) points while that of Bacillus subtilis from ‘ogiri’ has the least (3.10). However there were no significant differences in colour and appearance of the final products (at P > 0.05)

KEYWORDS: Starter culture; Owoh; Bacillus sp

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