Abstract:
Acha(Digitariaexilis) is one of the indigenous West African cereal but has been
neglected for long. This study showed the probiotic potential of acha by fermenting with
lactic acid bacteria. The evaluation was done using albino rats. The fermentation was done
traditionally for 72hours. During the fermentation, changes in pH, Temperature and titratable
acidity (TTA) were monitored. Proximate analysis and lyophilization were done on the
fermented samples. Also, hematological study and histopathology analysis were carried out
on the small and large intestine of the Albino rats that was fed with the fermented samples. A
total of 14 isolates which includes 8 Bacteria,3 Molds and 3 Yeasts were obtained from the
fermentation of acha grains. Pure cultures of Lactobacillus species isolated from the
fermented acha such as Lactobacillus cesai, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus
delbrueckiiwere used to ferment acha individually for 72 hours. The various fermented
samples were freeze dried to retain the organisms used for the fermentation. The pH
decreased while the titratable acidity (TTA) increased significantly (P≤0.05). The proximate
analysis of the different fermented samples indicated that the moisture content was highest in
the sample fermented with Lactobacillus cesai (12.31±0.00%) and least in the sample
fermented traditionally (11.16±0.02%). The crude protein was highest in the sample
fermented with Lactobacillus acidophilus (15.85±0.01%) and lowest in sample fermented
traditionally (11.79±0.08%). Carbohydrate was highest in traditionally fermented acha and
lowest in the sample fermented with Lactobacillus cesai. For 21days, all fermented samples
were used to feed rats infected with Escherichia coliand Shigelladysenteriaeexcept for the
control for in vivo study and evaluated for their probiotic potential. Haematological study
(PCV, WBC, RBC, Platelets, haemoglobin and differential leucocytes) and histopathology
analysis (small intestine and large intestine) of rats from all experimental groups showed that
acha fermented with Lactobacillus acidophilus was able to rebuild shrinked and ruptured cells
on the mucosal lining of the walls of the intestines. Conclusively, achafermented with
Lactobacillus acidophiluswas observed to have the best results on the weight of rats, white
blood cell count, red blood cell count and probiotic effect on the intestine of the rats fed with it.
