Raimi Olayinka Risiquat and Lawal, C.Y
Department of Applied Sciences, Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Nigeria
Fructosyltransferase (Ftase) the enzyme for fructooligosaccharide production (FOS) was prepared using solid state fermentation (SSF) with substrate (ripe plantain peel and kolanut pod) using Aspergillus niger. Enzyme activity was high using kolanut pod with activity of 1.8μ/m and 1.7μ/m in ripe plantain peel. Fructooligosaccharide produce was used to feed six weeks old, domestic rabbits for four weeks. The rabbit were placed into four groups and four rabbit in each group. The first group was fed with 2ml of fructooligisaccharide, second group 2ml of honey, third group were fed with 2ml of 60% sucrose every day respectively, and the fourth group serves as the control. The initial weight of the rabbit were between 321kg to 512kg, after feeding for four weeks, the weight increases to 342kg to 532kg. The blood glucose were determined after four weeks, the value obtained for fructooligosaccharide fed rabbit were between 50- 52mg/100ml, honey fed rabbit were between 71-73mg/100ml, rabbit fed with 60% sucrose ranges from 73-74mg/100ml, while the control were between 62-63mg/100ml. This confirms fructooligosaccharide as a good sweetner which do not increase blood sugar level. The fungi (Aspergillus niger) used for the enzyme production has been confirmed SAFE.
Keyowrds: Fructosyltransferase, Fructooligosaccharide, Domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Blood glucose level.