DefinePK

Abstract

Background and Objective Unabated increase in the price of animal feed ingredients has necessitated search for readily available and cheaper cassava peels. This study was designed to hydrolyze cassava peels with concentrated cellulase from Bacillus subtilis with a view to improve its nutritional contents. Materials and Methods Bacteria associated with cassava waste water were identified using standard microbiological techniques. The isolates were screened for cellulase production in submerged state fermentation using biochemical assay. The cassava peels were degraded with partially purified cellulase from the best-producing bacterium. The nutritional composition of cellulase-hydrolyzed samples was determined using standard chemical methods. Results The bacterial isolates identified were Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus sp. and Lactobacillus acidophilus. B. subtilis CWW2 the had the highest specific enzyme activity, it was therefore selected for further studies. There was an appreciable increase in the protein content of the sample hydrolyzed with concentrated enzyme from 1.4 to 5.6, while there was reduction in the fiber and contents by approximately 22 and 40, respectively. The lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses contents decreased from 6.10, 31 and 27 in untreated samples to 3.7, 26 and 16 in the samples hydrolyzed with enzyme preparation. There was also a reduction in the anti-nutritional compounds of the samples treated with enzyme when compared with untreated samples. The treatment of the sample with concentration enzyme resulted in increase of vitamins. Conclusion In conclusion, the treatment of cassava peels with concentrated cellulase increased its nutritional contents.