Table of Contents
Title page
Certification
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Table of contents
Abstract
CHAPTER ONE
Background of study
Statements of problem
Significance of study
Scope of study
Aims and objectives
Research questions
CHAPTER TWO
Literature review
Species of yam
Production
Harvesting
Storage
Methods of yam storage
Toxicity
Nutritional value
Phytochemicals
Consumption of yam in Africa
Yam flour
Chemical composition of yam flour
Methods of processing yam flour
CHAPTER THREE
Materials and methods
Sample collection
Materials
Reagents
Sterilization of materials
Sample preparation
Determination of moisture content of yam samples
Preparation of media
Preparation of Eosin Methylene Blue Agar (EMBA) medium
Preparation of MacConkey Agar medium
Preparation of Manitol Salt Agar medium
Preparation of Sabouraud Dextrose Agar medium
Inoculation of the media
Aerobic Bacteria count using nutrient Agar
Isolation of Bacterium
Identification of isolates
References
Lists of tables
Table 1: Nutritional value of Yam (raw) per 100g (3.0oz)
Table 2: composition of some Nigeria yam species
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Yam according to Library Congress, United State of America (2011) “is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) that form edible tubers. These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Oceania. There are many cultivars of yam. Although some varieties of sweet-potato (Ipomoea batatas) are also called yam in parts of the United States and Canada, sweet potato is not part of the family Dioscoreaceae but belongs in the unrelated morning-glory family Convolvulaceae”.
Yams are monocots, related to lilies and grasses. Native to Africa and Asia, yam tubers vary in size from that of a small potato to over 60 kilograms. There are over 600 varieties of yams and 95 percent of these crops are grown in Africa. Yams are a monocot (a plant having one embryonic seed leaf) and from the Dioscoreaceae family (Schultheis and Wilson, 2008). Yam tubers can grow up to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in length and weigh up to 70 kilograms (154 lb) and 3 to 6 inches high. The vegetable has a rough skin which is difficult to peel, but which softens after heating. The skins vary in color from dark brown to light pink (Calverly, 2014). Calverly said “the majority of the vegetable is composed of a much softer substance known as the “meat”. This substance ranges in color from white or yellow to purple or pink in mature yams; there are many cultivars of yam throughout the humid tropics.
STATEMENTS OF PROBLEM
- Microorganisms have posed a lot of threat in our society by causing several known or/and unknown diseases. This is majorly noticed from consumption of unhygienic prepared food, which leads to food poisoning, food infection etc.
- As a Microbiologist, this tends to give me a great concern and interest, since there is a high increase rate in the consumption of yam and its products like yam flour.
- It is necessary therefore to isolate and identify microorganisms from commercially sold yam flour especially those from the rural community of Eke Oko, Afor Umunze and Eke Awgbu of Anambra State considering the unwholesome unhygienic manner these flours are prepared using unsterilized tools and water.
- Thus the knowledge of the microorganism fauna of yam flours will assist individuals to know the medical consequences of consuming such product if contaminated.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
- To make people aware of what they should expect if they insist on consuming commercially prepared yam flour from unhygienic source.
- To remove fear from yam flour consumers as to whether the yam flour usually bought is free from microorganisms or not.
- To know whether the commercial yam flour has microorganisms and if it does, to know the species and whether they are beneficial or detrimental.
SCOPE OF STUDY
- To isolate microorganisms from yam flour sold at Eke Oko, Afor Umunze and Eke Awgbu and then identifies the various microorganisms by their names and species.
- The isolation and identification shall be done by biochemical tests like catalase, citrate, oxidase etc.
- This project will enligheten the masses that no matter how clean a yam flour may be, it may contain microorganisms if not produced in hygienic way.
- The isolation and identification period will not be more than 48-72hours so as to get the right results. After the isolation and identification process, we may get microorganisms free commercial yam flour or vice versa.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
- To isolate and identify some of the microorganisms associated with yam flour especially those ones sold commercially in the market in Eke Oko, Afor Umunze and Eke Awgbu of Anambra State considering the unwholesome unhygienic manner these flours are prepared using unsterilized tools and water. Besides, knowledge of the microorganism fauna of yam flours will assist individuals to know the medical consequences of consuming such product.
- To know how hygienic the commercial yam flour sold can be.
- To identify and isolate the detrimental microorganisms present in commercially sold yam flour.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- What are the compositions of yam flour?
- What are the benefits of consuming yam flour?
- Could there be microorganisms present in yam flour sold at Eke Oko, Afor Umunze and Eke Awgbu?
- What will be the solution to any problem discovered?
DISCLAIMER: All project works, files and documents posted on this website, eProjectTopics.com are the property/copyright of their respective owners. They are for research reference/guidance purposes only and some of the works may be crowd-sourced. Please don’t submit someone’s work as your own to avoid plagiarism and its consequences. Use it as a reference/citation/guidance purpose only and not copy the work word for word (verbatim). The paper should be used as a guide or framework for your own paper. The contents of this paper should be able to help you in generating new ideas and thoughts for your own study. eProjectTopics.com is a repository of research works where works are uploaded for research guidance. Our aim of providing this work is to help you eradicate the stress of going from one school library to another in search of research materials. This is a legal service because all tertiary institutions permit their students to read previous works, projects, books, articles, journals or papers while developing their own works. This is where the need for literature review comes in. “What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. The paid subscription on eProjectTopics.com is a means by which the website is maintained to support Open Education. If you see your work posted here by any means, and you want it to be removed/credited, please contact us with the web address link to the work. We will reply to and honour every request. Please notice it may take up to 24 – 48 hours to process your request.
