Microbial engineering of flavour compounds from African oil bean seed (AOBS) (Pentaclethra macrophylla)

The aim of this research was to evaluate the production of flavor compounds during the fermentation of Pentaclethra macrophylla seeds using mono and mixed cultures of Bacillus subtilis and Lactobacillus fermentum and to establish the quality of the fermented products. Pentaclethra macrophylla seeds were pre-processed and fermented with monocultures of B. subtilis and L. fermentum as well as a combined culture where L.fermentum was used as adjunct. Traditional fermentation was used as the control. When the pure microbial isolates were compared using the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST), the organisms showed 93.4% similarity to Bacillus subtilis DQ198162.1, and 100% similarity to Lactobacillus fermentum respectively. Naturally fermented P. macrophylla contained fungi, spoilage and pathogenic as well as beneficial microorganisms. The flavor compounds from each mono starter fermentation and combined starters were monitored for 96 hours. Fermentation with isolated B. subtilis yielded mainly fatty acids. Fermentation with isolated Lactobacillus fermentum yielded mainly aldehydes. Fermentation with mixed B. subtilis and L. fermentum for 72 hours yielded mainly esters and traditionally fermented samples yielded numer ous flavor compounds (mainly esters and acids)