Production of African breadfruit (Treculia africana) and soybean (Glycine max) seed based food formulations, 1: Effects of germination and fermentation on nutritional and organoleptic quality.

Germination and fermentation were investigated as methods of improving the nutritional and organoleptic properties of soybean and African breadfruit seed based food formulations. Four products consisting of germinated-fermented soy-breadfruit seeds (GFSB), nongerminated-fermented soy-breadfruit seeds (NGFSB), germinated-nonfermented soy-breadfruit seeds (GNFSB) and nongerminated-nonfermented soy-breadfruit seeds (NGNFSB) were prepared. Phytic acid contents, in vitro protein digestibilities, protein efficiency ratios (PER), net protein ratios (NPR), flavor, appearance and overall acceptability were evaluated. Germination followed by natural lactic fermentation significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the phytic acid by a factor of 11.6 in NGNFSB compared to reduction factors of 2.1 and 1.5 in GNFSB and NGFSB, respectively. The in vitro protein digestibility (%), PER and NPR values of 73.4, 2.46 and 3.62 for GFSB; 71.1, 2.35 and 3.46 for NGFSB; 68.7, 2.16 and 3.41 for GNFSB were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the 64.7, 1.82 and 2.11 for NGNFSB. The mean sensory scores were 5.26-5.67 for GNFSB, 4.66-4.94 for NGNFSB, 4.33-4.80 for GFSB and 4.27-4.34 for NGFSB on a 7-point rating scale.