Reduction of some toxicants in Icacina mannii by fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The effect of fermentation on the level of some toxic components (hydrocyanic acid, phytic acid and oxalic acid) of Icacina mannii paste was investigated. The results indicate that fermentation caused a decrease in the level of these toxicants ranging from 178 mg/kg to 70 mg/kg for hydrocyanic acid, 638 mg/kg to 463 mg/kg for oxalic acid and 49 mg/kg to 21 mg/kg for phytic acid. When the paste was supplemented with active cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae there was a marked decrease in the level of the three toxicants ranging from 84 mg/kg to 16 mg/kg for hydrocyanic acid, 374 mg/kg to 88 mg/kg for oxalic acid and 24 mg/kg to 5 mg/kg for phytic acid. Supplementing the paste with yeast cells at a concentration of 7.5 g/kg before fermenting, resulted in approximately a 90% reduction in the level of the three toxic compounds after 144 hours of fermentation.