The nutrit ion of the people of developing countries is a major public health issue which has challenged breeders to enhance the nutritional quality of preferred and staple crops such as yam. This project therefore aimed at evaluating the effect of soy flour enrich ment on the rheological properties of poundo yam flour. The yam flour was substituted with soy flour at varying proportions (100:0; 90:10; 80:20; 70:30) with the aim of producing a more nutritionally balanced product (poundo yam). Reconstituted poundo yam dough was prepared from all the flour samp les and was evaluated for consumer acceptability. Data obtained showed that the functional properties i.e. swelling power (2.70-3.34%) and solubility (16.16-20.23%) increased significantly (P≤0.05) with increasing substitution levels of soybean with a co rresponding decrease in the bulk density (0.84-0.71) and dispersibility (60.50-52.50) and water absorption capacity (267.76-260.62%) as the substitution levels of soybean increases. The substitution of soy flour into yam flour affected the rheological properties of yam flour; the rate of water absorption of the yam flour decreased as soy flour substitution levels increased. Also, the dough stability time of the enriched flours was higher than that of the yam flour. The 30% enrich ment level had the highest dough consistency (283FU). The extensibility of the enriched flour b lends increased upon increasing levels of soy flour substitution. The 20% flour blend had the h ighest resistance to highest resistance to extension. Soybean flour substitution also increased the amino acid profile of the poundo yam. The poundo yam made fro m this flour blends also varied in texture, aro ma, taste and colour. Apart from adding value and varieties to poundo yam meal due to its colour and textural improvement, enriching yam flour with soybean flour at 10% level would also reduce the problem of food security especially among children in the sub Sahara region of Africa where malnutrition due to protein deficiency is prevalent.

Abstract:The measurement of protein quality is usually non-specific, that is, if one compares this with the assay for minerals, one would find that in the case of minerals, a specific substance is being measured. However, with proteins, the quality depends on the quantity of at least 9 amino acids. The quality of the protein depends on the balance among the respective amino acids, on which the utilisation of the protein depends. As a result, the different methods of protein evaluation give different results for the nutritive value.

This project was carried out to investigate the effect industrial pollution as it affects the heavy metal concentrations flared into the atmosphere, washed down by rain and absorb by maize cultivated in industrial areas of Ogun State. This was suspected to have effects on food safety .In addition to determine the effect of soil factor and the accumulation of metals in maize. This study also ascertained the basis for environmental protection and reduction of the negative implication of heavy metals in the human and livestock health. Maize and soil samples were collected from industrial areas in Ogun State and were analyzed for both chemical and metal concentrations. The metals Fe, Cu, Mg, Ni, Pb, Ca, and Co were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results of the chemical analysis of the maize collected from the industrial areas of Ogun State ranged between 6.35-9.45%, 8.31-12.68%, 1.49-8.294% 1.746-2.792%, and 71.32-78.896% for moisture, crude protein, ether extract, and carbohydrate respectively while the chemical analysis of the soil ranged between 0.65-1.90%, 6.63-7.89%, and 4.01-8.6% for moisture, pH, and nitrogen content respectively. The concentrations of the metals Fe, Cu, Mg, Ni, Pb, Ca, and Co in maize ranged between 28.5-59.5mg/kg, 2-10.7mg/kg, 248.3-321mg/kg, 1.8-4.775mg/kg, 62.5-150mg/kg, and 1.2-10.2mg/kg respectively while the concentrations of the soil samples were 28.9-59.6mg/kg, 4-12.2mg/kg, 297.3-350.5mg/kg, 4.55-9.28mg/kg, 83.3-177.5mg/kg, 7.6-21.8mg/kg, and 0.075-0.46mg/kg for Fe, Cu, Mg, Ni, Pb, Ca, and Co respectively. Some of the metals such as Ni in Ewekoro, Pb in Sango, exceeded the recommended limits proposed by WHO/FAO. The results showed that the high concentrations of certain heavy metals in maize revealed the level of food insecurity and this calls for public concern.

The effect of commercial enzymes on quality of wort developed from replacement of malted barley (100%) with sorghum as adjunct 50%, 60%, 70%, and 80% was investigated for pH, colour, filteration rate, extract asin, dry extract, viscosity, total soluble nitrogen and free amino nitrogen. The wort pH (5.6 -6.0) is relatively stable with no significant changes at all levels of replacements. The colour is lighter with increment in proportion of the sorghum as it appears as colour diluents. Wort filteration rate is reduced with the sorghum replacement and the wort produced tends to be turbid which affects the utilization of the wort. The total soluble nitrogen and free amino nitrogen value increased with the use of commercial enzymes while the viscosity decreases with enzymes. The use of ceremix and cereflo have been found to be relatively more effective in the preparation of beer wort as observed for the result obtained in proportions of sorghum and malt barley. The use of high percentage sorghum as adjunct with commercial enzymes are found to be useful in production of high quality wort with low cost and profitability.

Pleurotus spp. are white-rot fungi that utilize different agro-wastes to produce useful biologically active compounds. In this study, exopolysaccharides (EPS) were produced by Pleurotus pulmonarius in submerged culture supplemented with different agro-wastes. Functional groups in EPS were revealed using Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Antimicrobial activity of EPS was tested against microorganisms using agar well diffusion. Scavenging potentials of EPS was tested against 1, 1- diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl (OH), iron (Fe 2+ ) and nitric oxide (NO) radicals. In vitro prebiotic activity of EPS was carried out. The highest yield (5.60 g/L) of EPS was produced by P. pulmonarius in submerged culture supplemented with groundnut shell (20.0 g/L). The functional groups in EPS were hydroxyl (-OH), methyl (-CH 3 ), ketone (-RCOH) and carbonyl group (-C=O). EPS displayed zones of inhibition (5.00–14.00 mm) against tested microorganisms. Scavenging activity of EPS ranged from 65.70-81.80% against DPPH. EPS supported the growth of Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Streptococcus thermophiles with values ranged from 3.04 × 10 4 –3.40 × 10 4 cfu/ml and 2.50 × 10 4 –2.81 × 10 4 cfu/ml, respectively. Submerged culture of P. pulmonarius with addition of agro-wastes enhanced yield of EPS. The EPS exhibited bio-functional properties like antimicrobial, antioxidant and prebiotic activities. Hence, agrowastes can be recycled in submerged fermentation with fungi to produce promising biomaterials for biopharmaceutical applications.