Researchers at University of Johannesburg, South Africa have demonstrated that dehulling Bambara groudnut along with fermentation to produce dawadawa can effectively reduce mycotoxins. Mycotoxins that frequently occur in food systems, with devastating consequences for human and animal health include aflatoxins, ochratoxin, trichothecenes, fumonisins and patulin.

In the study published in Journal of Food Control, unhulled and dehulled dawadawa were fermented for 48-120 hours at temperature of 25 to 45 degree celsius. The study further revealed that increasing fermentation conditions resulted in an increase in PH and titratable acidity but slightly decreased after prolonged fermentation period. A 100% reduction in aflatoxin B1 and other selected mycotoxins was achieved in dehulled dawadawa. However, reduction of mycotoxins was higher in dehulled dawadawa compared to unhulled dawadawa samples.

This study shows that fermentation ‘remains a viable food technique that contributes to food safety, enhances nutritional composition and health promoting properties of food”.

Click the link below if you are interested to read the article

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956713520300578