Beneficial Changes and Drawbacks of a Traditional Fermentation Process on Chemical Composition and Antinutritional Factors of Yellow Maize (Zea mays)

The present study was designed to investigate the potential of nutritional improvement of yellow maize by a household fermentation. Yellow maize (Zea mays) was fermented according to a traditional fermentation process which included soaking the raw seeds in distilled water for four days at 30 C, followed by milling, washing, sieving, decanting and drying. Proximate composition, vitamins, minerals and some antinutritional factors such as phytates, trypsin and -amylase inhibitors were measured and compared in raw and processed maize. Crude proteins, total fats, carbohydrates and fibers significantly decreased by 8.7, 11.2 and 8.8%, respectively ( 0.05). This was accompanied by a decrease of 38% for calcium, 69% for thiamin, 81.81% for riboflavin and 66% for Retinol Equivalent (RE). These nutrient losses were due to the various steps involved in the process, but thiamin, riboflavin and RE content were already low in raw maize. The pH drop to 3.87 and the reduction in antinutrient factors observed (61.5, 41.7 and 16.6%, for phytates, trypsin inhibitors and -amylase inhibitors, respectively) might improve the safety and the nutritional value of fermented maize. However the decrease in macronutrients and the low content in vitamins observed in fermented or raw maize require complementation with other protein and vitamin food sources.