Effects Of Fermentation On The Free Fatty Acids Of African Locust Bean During Iru Production

Summary

The change in the free fatty acids before and after the fermentation of Africanlocust bean, Parkia biglobosa, was investigated quantitatively and qualitatively.Samples used were cooked dehulled unfermented beans and two kinds of iru,the fermented products. The free fatty acid (FFA) fraction was 0.6 per cent(w/w) in the unfermented bean seeds and 0.1 per cent (w/w) in the fermentedbean seeds. There were no significant differences qualitatively between thepatterns of free fatty acids of the unfermented seeds and the two kinds of iru. The F FA present in all the samples were palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid,lin oleic acid and o ne unidentified peak. The most significant change in the FF Ais the reduction in the f’F A content with fermentation.