EVALUATIONOF ACHA (DIGITARIA EXILIS) GRAIN FERMENTED WITH LACTOBACILLUS SPECIES AS A PROBIOTIC FOOD

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.