Authors : A.O. Ubalua and O.U. Ezeronye
Abstract: The role of cassava peel as a cheap carbohydrate source capable of supplying adequate calories to Tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings with improved protein value through fermentation with biomass from palm wine and other protein sources were investigated. The protein content of the cassava peel was enhanced by fermentation using a mixed culture of bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe). Microbial population increased with microbial succession after 3 days of fermentation and the crude protein value of the fermented cassava peels increased from an initial value of 5.4 to 17.2%. The decrease in pH from 7.2 to 3.4 enhanced the growth of lactic acid bacteria thus inhibiting proteolysis resulting from the activity of the competing clostridial species. The specific growth rates of the fishes appeared to decrease with the progression of the feeding experiment and their weight increased with 70 and 50% for the 8 weeks of the study with respect to soybean and the fermented cassava peel and compared favourably with the control (fish meal) which is 60%. Growth performance results showed that the fishes performed better on soybean meal than on the other diets, though, the observed differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05).
A.O. Ubalua and O.U. Ezeronye , 2008. Growth Responses and Nutritional Evaluation of Cassava Peel Based Diet on Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Fish Fingerlings. Journal of Food Technology, 6: 207-213.