OCCURRENCE OF AMYLASE PRODUCING ORGANISMS IN CASSAVA FERMENTATION FOR GARRI PRODUCTION

Amylases are enzymes that catalyse the hydrolysis of starch molecules to give by-products including dextrin and progressively smaller polymers composed of glucose units. These enzymes are of great importance in the present day biotechnology with applications ranging from food, fermentation, textile to paper industries. Although amylases can be derived from several sources, including plants, animals and microorganisms, microbial enzymes generally meet industrial demands. In this study, the microorganisms were isolated from cassava fermentation. The amylase producing potentials of bacterial and yeast isolates associated with cassava mash fermentation for garri production was analyzed. Samples were collected for 3 consecutive days from one particular batch of cassava fermenting for garri production in Orie Emene, Enugu state, Nigeria. The isolated organisms were Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus buchneri, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Corynebacterium manihot, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus fermentum. Amylase producing ability was screened for, using nutrient agar supplemented with starch. Results obtained revealed that Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum and Rhodotorula mucilagenosa had α – amylase producing ability.