Probiotics are live bacteria that can be found in fermented local foods and confer health benefits on the host when administered in adequate amounts. However, there is little awareness of local fermented, lactose-free foods as good and cheap sources of probiotics that could be employed in the dietary management of diarrhoea instead of the expensive antibiotic drugs. The local food materials were fermented and prepared into their respective meals using traditional methods. The probiotic population, nutrient quality, and energy value of the fermented foods, and the prepared meals were investigated. Probiotics were isolated and enumerated from the meals using standard pour- plating techniques, while the proximate composition of the samples was evaluated using standard methods. The used food samples include; Sorghum ‘ogí’ (SP), Soya flour, ‘Garri’, and formulated meals from Sorghum ‘ogí’ (SP) and Soya four as 90% ‘ogí’+10% soya (TS), 80% ‘ogí’+20% soya (PS), and 70% ‘ogí’+30% soya (ST). The probiotic (LAB) population identified in the meals includes Bifidobacterium lactis at concentration ranges of (3.41x102– 7.77x106 CFU/g), Lactobacillus acidophilus (1.48x103–3.69x106 CFU/g) and Lactobacillus bulgaricus (1.01x102–7.39x104 CFU/g). Bifidobacterium lactis had the highest population (7.77×10⁶ CFU/g) in PS, while Lactobacillus acidophilus (3.69×10⁶ CFU/g) and Lactobacillus bulgaricus (7.39×10⁴ CFU/g) were highest in ST. However, only the PS meal met the RDA standards for both Bifidobacterium lactis (≥106 CFU/g) and Lactobacillus bulgaricus (103 CFU/g) implying a good source of probiotics, and exhibited good nutrient quality; (69.48%) moisture, (7.10%) protein, (3.34%) ash, (6.70%) crude fat, (2.76%) fibre and (10.60%) carbohydrates. Thus, the formulated PS meal with an adequate concentration of probiotics of acclaimed health benefits possesses the potential for a therapeutic diet that could help in ameliorating the effect of gastrointestinal disorder and diarrhoea. Also, the good nutrient quality and energy value of the meal indicates its capability for faster recuperation after a health disorder like diarrhoea.

The amount of moisture adsorbed by stored food products usually varies with temperature and relative humidity at a constant pressure. This research was carried out to determine the sorption isotherm behaviour of pupuru flour in the temperature and water activity (aw) ranges of 10−50 oC and 0.10−0.93 using gravimetric method. The Guggenheim-Anderson-De Boer (GAB), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Oswin and Smith sorption equations, formulated for the sorption characterization of starchy foods, were used to constitute the models. The results show that the sorption isotherm curve is similar to a Type II classification typical of starchy foods. Also, the sorption parameters (Mo, C and K) were generally higher for the products stored at 10 oC and 0.10 aw. The parameter K decreases with an increase in the temperature for the GAB and the Smith models, but remains inconsistent for the Oswin model. The Mo increases with an increase in the temperature for the GAB and Smith models. The GAB, Oswin and Smith models were generally adequate and valid with an MSE< 10% and a high degree of fitness (R2 and R2adj > 90%). This indicates their ability to predict the sorption isortherm characteristics of the pupuru flour within its range of the aw and the storage temperature.

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