APPLICATION OF <i>CANDIDA VALIDA</i> AS A PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT

ABSTRACT An investigation was carried out on the carbon and nitrogen sources needed for the growth of a yeast, Candida valida (syn. Candida mycoderma ), isolated from Ogi, a fermented edible corn product given to babies at weaning. The suitability of this organism as a protein supplement in foods was also determined. The yeast was grown in different carbon sources: glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, starch, dextrin, mannitol and ethanol, and in different nitrogen sources like urea, amino acids, ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate and ammonium sulfate, as part of the synthetic basal medium for 7 days and the growth measured using the dry weight method. A significantly high increase in yield was observed when 1% fructose was used and maximum yield was obtained with 3.5 and 0.2% (w/v) of fructose and urea as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Growing the fungus in 0.3% cane molasses, a natural substrate gave a significantly higher increase in yield than in a synthetic medium. As a food supplement, other nutrient contents of this organism such as ash, crude fiber, lipids and carbohydrates were also analyzed in addition to the protein, free amino acids and energy values. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Candida tropicalis is already in use for protein enrichment of major food materials like corn and cassava which have very low protein content (about 1–3%). In addition, the yeast is known to have high lysine and tryptophan levels, thus, further increasing the nutritional values of these African staple food. The organism Candida valida can be incorporated when producing snacks, giving a balanced diet for human consumption. Thus, C. valida also has high potential when used in these forms as it is indigenous to the already established edible food products “ogi” which has wide acceptance in the African continent.