M. George et al., BIOCHEMICAL-CHANGES IN CASSAVA TUBER DURING FERMENTATION AND ITS EFFECT ON EXTRACTED STARCH AND RESIDUE, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 69(3), 1995, pp. 367-371
The biochemical changes brought about in cassava tubers during ferment
ation (72 h) with a mixed culture inoculum are delineated. The initial
starch content of the four cultivars studied ranged from 216 to 331.3
g kg(-1) and only slight decrease in starch occurred after 72 h ferme
ntation, the final values being 200-302.2 g kg(-1). There was a consid
erable decrease in the sugar content with fermentation in all the cult
ivars, indicating a predominant utilisation of the easily assimilable
sugars by the microorganisms. A sharp decrease in pH (4.3-4.7) was obs
erved after 24 h fermentation itself, resulting from the production of
organic acids. There was increased recovery of the starchy flour from
the fermented cassava tubers with concomitant decrease in the residue
yield. The starchy flour had higher fiber content than that obtained
from the non-fermented tubers. Optical and scanning electron microscop
y revealed clustering of starch granules in the starchy flour from fer
mented tubers.