Fermentation of oil bean seeds involves a mixture of bacteria in which Bacillus spp. are the predominant and most actively involved organisms. Other bacteria involved are Staphylococcus spp., Micrococcus spp. and Leuconostoc spp., but these do not appear to play any major role in the fermentation.

Tlte effects of steep regime, nature of alkaline steeping agent, and kilning condition on a-atnylase development were studied for four Nigerian sorghum cultivars. Malt a-amylase activity was highly significantly (p<.001) influenced by all the four factors as well as their various assortments of interaction. Generally malts from the Local Red (LR) variety produced the highest a-amylase values, followed by those of SK 5912, Local Witite and KSV 8 in the above sequence. Tlte presence/ absence of air-rest processes in steep regimes was a significant factor (p<.001) influencing malt a-amylase response to final wann steeping as well as to the other factors under study. Similarly, the nature of the steeping agent was a very significant determinant of malt a-amylase response to kilning condition and regime of steeping. Of significant interest was the observation that Ca (OH)2 steeps enhanced malt a-amylase activity at the higher temperature of kilning. Tlte significantly lower a-amylase values given under similar conditions by the other alkaline liquors suggest a possible increase in malt thermostability due to steeping in Ca (OH)2. Additionally, the fact that the extent of enhancement of malt a-amylase activity by Ca (OH)2, at 50°C Kiln temperature, was regime-dependent, suggests that the latter ivas an important modulator of sorghum germination physiology.

Steep regime, nature of alkaline liquor, and kilning conditions were studied for their effects on sorghum malt ␤-amylase development in four Nigerian sorghum cultivars. Malt ␤-amylase activity was markedly (p < .001) influenced by all the four factors as well as their various interactions. Overall, malts from KSV 8 variety were the most ␤-amylolytic followed in sequence by those from Local Red (LR), SK 5912, and Local white (LW) respectively. The presence or absence of air rests in steep regimes was a significant (p < .001) determinant of sorghum ␤-amylase response to final warm steeping, steep liquor and kilning condition. The nature of the alkaline steep liquor was also a major determinant of the pattern of malt ␤-amylase response to the kilning condition. Steeping in Ca(OH) 2 enhanced malt ␤-amylase activity at the higher temperature of kilning, while KOH produced the opposite effect. Ca(OH) 2 enhancement of ␤-amylase development, at a kilning temperature of 50°C, was varietydependent suggesting that different sorghum cultivars may employ different biosynthesis models for ␤-amylase synthesis. The regime-dependence of ␤-amylase response to kiln temperature suggests that this was an important modulator of sorghum germination physiology.Key words: Alkaline liquor, ␤-amylase, kilning temperature, sorghum malt, steeping regime, cultivars. -2863(9'8-32␤-Amylase is the key saccharifying enzyme of the brewers' malt 22 . While the low ␤-amylase activity of sorghum malts has been defined as one of the most serious obstacles to its use as replacement for barley malt 2 , results of recent studies using some improved varieties of the grain suggest that the production of high ␤-amylasecontaining sorghum malts may be possible with the proper choice of variety and conditions of malting 9,10,[25][26][27] . Recent research has shown that sorghum malt ␣-amylase level is critically correlated with environmental conditions of steeping and kilning 24 . While some work has been conducted on the effects of environmental conditions of steeping on sorghum malt ␤-amylase levels, very few data are available with respect to the effects of kilning conditions on the development of the sorghum enzyme 29 . In this communication, we present the effects of kilning conditions on the ␤-amylase activity of sorghum malts prepared from different cultivars, and under varying conditions of steeping including dissimilar steep liquors as well as different steeping regimes. 1%8)6-%07 %2( 1)8,3(7 7SYVGIW SJ WSVKLYQ GYPXMZEVWCultivars SK 5912 and KSV 8 were improved varieties obtained from the National Seeds Service, Zaria, Nigeria. Grains of the local white (LW) and the local red (LR) varieties were purchased from the open market at Nsukka, Nigeria. Germinative energies were above 95% for all the grains and none was water-sensitive. 7SVKLYQ QEPXMRKThe grains were sorted manually to remove broken kernels and debris. Alkaline steeping was carried out using glass-distilled water containing 0.1% of the alkali (NaOH, KOH, or Ca(OH) 2 ). Double glass-distilled...

Twenty-four bacteria capable of utilizing naphthalene, as their sole source of carbon and energy for growth were isolated from three different sites in Nsukka, Nigeria. By standard bacteriological methods, these bacteria were characterized taxonomically as belonging to the genus Pseudomonas, Burkholderia or Actinomycetes. Two of the isolates, which showed the highest growth during screening as demonstrated by an increase in their optical densities (OD 600 ) and identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia respectively, were also able to grow in anthracene and carbazole, but not very much so in 2,4-dichlorophenol and D-camphor. The isolates showed a concentration-dependent growth in all the compounds they grew in. There were visible changes in the colour of the growth medium of the isolates during their incubation, suggesting the production of different metabolites. There were also changes in their medium pH during growth. These studies demonstrate the possession by the bacterial species of novel degradative systems.

Sixty packaged heat-processed Nigerian fruit juices consisting of 15 each of mango, orange, pineapple and tomato, were screened for the presence of heat-resistant fungi after storage at approximately 28°C for 30 days. The resulting fungal growth was purified on potato dextrose agar. Approximately 17% of all the fruit juice packages and 27% of mango and tomato juices contained heat-resistant fungi. These were identified as Pnecilomyces variotii, Aspergillus tnmnrii, A. flavus and A. ochraceus, the latter being predominant.