Mycotoxins in , A Traditional Non-Cereal Based Alcoholic Beverage of Botswana.

Mycotoxin contamination is a major food safety drawback towards the commercialization of food products. The commercialization of , a popular fermented alcoholic beverage of Botswana necessitates the investigation of the presence of mycotoxins. brewing involves the uncontrolled and unstandardized spontaneous fermentation of sun-dried fruits, which could be a source of mycotoxin-producing filamentous fungi (molds).

Functional Characterization of Yeasts Isolates for Selection of Starter Cultures.

Yeasts play an important role in spontaneous fermentation of traditional alcoholic beverages. Our previous study revealed that a mixed-consortia of both and non- yeasts were responsible for fermentation of , a popular, non-standardized traditional beverage with an immense potential for commercialization in Botswana. Functional characterization of isolated fermenting yeasts from mixed consortia is an indispensable step towards the selection of potential starter cultures for commercialization of .

Biosurfactant production by halophilic yeasts isolated from extreme environments in Botswana.

Nine morphologically distinct halophilic yeasts were isolated from Makgadikgadi and Sua pans, as pristine and extreme environments in Botswana. Screening for biosurfactant production showed that Rhodotorula mucilaginosa SP6 and Debaryomyces hansenii MK9 exhibited the highest biosurfactant activity using Xanthocercis zambesiaca seed powder as a novel and alternative inexpensive carbon substrate. Chemical characterization of the purified biosurfactants by Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy suggested that the biosurfactant from R.