Nunu is a spontaneously fermented yoghurt-like milk product consumed as a staple food commodity invirtually all parts of the Country. Its production and consumption gives way to much food security and economic benefits to the rural people. However, the process characteristics result in products which are not appealing to many people, have very short shelf-life and could have food safety concerns. In a framework of research to improve the product quality and increase consumption, a study was conducted to determine the process characteristics and elucidate the predominant microflora associate with the production of the product. A survey was done on the technology of nunu production in three major towns of the in the Country, during which fermenting nunu were taken from 5 processors for laboratory analysis. pH, and titratable acidity were determined, as well as isolation and identification of the predominant microorganisms. They were characterized based on colony morphology, cell morphology and biochemical tests.Processing of nunu in Nigeria takes place at ambient conditions in calabashes or plastic containers, and spontaneously. No pre-fermentation heating of the milk is done. The duration of fermentation is 24 to 48 hours. Several species of Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from the fermenting samples, they are classified as lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Lactococcus, Pediococcus, Enterococcus, and Streptococcus; . The fermentation of nunu is spontaneous. Potential pathogens may be present in the milk fermented, but are eliminated as the fermentation progresses to 48 hours, increasing the safetyof the product.The presence of LAB in foods can cause shelf life elongation and safety of the food products.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1. Lactic acid bacteria
2.2. Probiotics
2.3. Antimicrobial peptide Bacteriocin produced by lactic acid bacteria
2.3.1. Bacteriocin produced by Streptococcus sp.
2.3.2. Bacteriocins produced by Enterococcus faecium
2.3.3. Bacteriocins produced by Lactobacillus plantarum
2.4. Probiotics in aquaculture
2.5. Indian traditional fermented foods as source of lactic acid bacteria
2.5.1. Cereal based (with/without pulses) fermented foods
2.5.2. Cereal/pulse and butter milk based fermented food
2.5.4. Milk based fermented foods
2.5.5. Vegetable, bamboo shoot and unripe fruits based fermented foods
2.5.6. Meat based fermented foods
2.5.7. Pulse based fermented foods
2.6. Adherence of lactic acid bacteria to intestinal cell line and inhibition of pathogen adherence
2.7. Protective Roles of Probiotics on Colon Cancer
CHAPTER 3
3.0MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Samples and Sample collection
3.2 Determinations of pH and Titratable acidity.
3.3 Enumeration and Isolation of Microorganisms
3.4 Phenotypic characterization
3.5 Characterization of Lactic acid bacteria
3.6Identification of lactic acid bacteria at the genus level
3.7 Identification of lactic acid bacteria to the species level
CHAPTER 4
4.0 RESULTS
4.1 DISCUSSION
CHAPTER 5
5.0 CONCLUSIONS/FINDINGS
REFERENCES