Nutritive value of masau (Ziziphus mauritiana) fruits from Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe.

Ziziphus mauritiana (masau) fruits are consumed by many people in Zimbabwe. The fruits contribute significantly to people's diet when they are in season. The objective of this study was to determine the nutritional content of the fruits and, hence, quantify their contribution to the diet.

Yellow maize with high β-carotene is an effective source of vitamin A in healthy Zimbabwean men.

Background: The bioconversion efficiency of yellow maize β-carotene to retinol in humans is unknown.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the vitamin A value of yellow maize β-carotene in humans.

Design: High β-carotene-containing yellow maize was grown in a hydroponic medium with 23 atom% (2)H(2)O during grain development.

Yeasts and lactic acid bacteria microbiota from masau (Ziziphus mauritiana) fruits and their fermented fruit pulp in Zimbabwe.

Masau are Zimbabwean wild fruits, which are usually eaten raw and/ or processed into products such as porridge, traditional cakes, mahewu and jam. Yeasts, yeast-like fungi, and lactic acid bacteria present on the unripe, ripe and dried fruits, and in the fermented masau fruits collected from Muzarabani district in Zimbabwe were isolated and identified using physiological and molecular methods. The predominant species were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Issatchenkia orientalis, Pichia fabianii and Aureobasidium pullulans.

The role of interaction between yeasts and lactic acid bacteria in African fermented milks: a review.

Yeasts are present in indigenous African fermented milks in numbers up to log 8 cfu g(-1), together with a varied lactic acid bacteria (LAB) flora, and therefore potentially contribute to product characteristics. However, interaction between yeasts and LAB in these products has received little notice. In studies of indigenous fermented milk in Zimbabwe and Uganda, many samples contained more than one species of yeast, but Saccharomyces cerevisiae was most commonly isolated.