Assessment of amino acid profile, anti-nutritional compounds, and sensory properties of optimized locust beans with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SAL-IMIE02 and Limosilactobacillus fermentum SAL-IMIE01 as starter cultures

Musah, Salmat S. and Makut, Makwin D. and Obiekezie, Smart O. and Adamu, Binta B. and Izebe, Kasim and Kabir, Aisha and Butoboro, Grace (2025) Assessment of amino acid profile, anti-nutritional compounds, and sensory properties of optimized locust beans with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SAL-IMIE02 and Limosilactobacillus fermentum SAL-IMIE01 as starter cultures. GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 32 (1). pp. 390-399. ISSN 2581-3250

The study aimed to evaluate the amino acid profile, anti-nutritional compounds, and sensory properties of optimized locust beans fermented using Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SAL-IMIE02 and Limosilactobacillus fermentum SAL-IMIE01 as starter cultures. Amino acid quantification was conducted using an Amino Acid Analyzer (Technicon Instruments Corporation, New York), while the determination of anti-nutritional compounds followed the method described by Ajayi (2011). The condiments were served to a panel of 60 untrained members familiar with the products, who evaluated attributes such as appearance, aroma, texture, and overall acceptability based on a 9-point Hedonic scale (Oke et al., 2023).Overall, there was a significant increase in the concentration of all amino acids—lysine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, valine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and threonine—in locust beans produced through co-fermentation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SAL-IMIE02 and Limosilactobacillus fermentum SAL-IMIE01compared to the commercial sample. Additionally, the analysis of anti-nutritional compounds in the optimized samples and the control group revealed a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in Phytate content (from 45.4 ± 0.7 mg/100g to 15.9 ± 0.3 mg/100g), oxalate (from 160.5 ± 1.7 mg/100g to 49.4 ± 0.8 mg/100g), cyanide (from 12.8 ± 0.2 mg/kg to 4.3 ± 0.2 mg/kg), saponin (from 3.89 ± 0.03% to 1.78 ± 0.03%), phenolic compounds (from 4.08 ± 0.03 mg GAE/g to 2.38 ± 0.03 mg GAE/g), and flavonoids (from 3.06 ± 0.04 mg QE/g to 1.87 ± 0.02 mg QE/g). Furthermore, nitrate and tannin contents decreased significantly (from 15.6 ± 0.1 mg/kg to 6.7 ± 0.1 mg/kg; and from 8.18 ± 0.03 mg/g to 3.88 ± 0.03 mg/g, respectively) in the optimized locust beans.Locust beans fermented with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SAL-IMIE02 and Limosilactobacillus fermentum SAL-IMIE01 received higher scores for color (8.83 ± 0.81), texture (8.33 ± 1.04), taste (7.53 ± 1.17), consistency (7.94 ± 1.30), and overall acceptability (9.31 ± 0.54) compared to the commercial locust beans. The results of this study support the fact that Lactobacillus spp. fermentation significantly enhances the composition and acceptability of fermented foods.