Diversity of predominant lactic acid bacteria associated with cocoa fermentation in Nigeria.

The fermentation of cocoa relies on a complex succession of bacteria and filamentous fungi, all of which can have an impact on cocoa flavor. So far, few investigations have focused on the diversity of lactic acid bacteria involved in cocoa fermentation, and many earlier investigations did not rely on polyphasic taxonomical approaches, which take both phenotypic and genotypic characterization techniques into account. In our study, we characterized predominant lactic acid bacteria from cocoa fermentations in Nigeria, using a combination of phenotypic tests, repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR, and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of representative strains for accurate species identification.

The microbiology of Ghanaian cocoa fermentations analysed using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.

Export of cocoa beans is of great economic importance in Ghana and several other tropical countries. Raw cocoa has an astringent unpleasant taste and a spontaneous fermentation is the first step in a process leading to cocoa beans with the characteristic cocoa flavour and taste. The microbiology of Ghanaian cocoa fermentations was investigated using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.

Alcohol production from pineapple waste.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae andZymomonas mobilis were grown on pineapple waste and their alcohol production characteristics compared. The pineapple waste consisted of 19% cellulose, 22% hemi-cellulose, 5% lignin and 53% cell soluble matters but concentration of soluble sugars, which included 5.2% sucrose, 3.