Comparative Studies on the Influence of Fermentation on Chemical Characteristics of Oil Extracted from African Locust Bean (Parkiabiglobosa)

African Locust bean (Parkiabiglobosa) has been a fermented condiment in Africa from the antiquity used in soup preparation to bring out the required flavor and taste. This research focused on the effect of fermentation on the oil from Parkiabiglobosa when wholly consumed or extracted for home and industrial purposes. Oil from unfermented biglobosahas the highest acid value (6.17±0.02mgkOH/g) while oil from fermented has the lowest acid value (5.61±0.01mgkOH/g). These showed that both oils are suitable for edible purposes irrespective of the toxicity of the raw flour sample.The saponification values were 161.00mgKoH/g and 187.93mgKoH/g for oil from unfermented and fermented, the higher saponification value in the oil from fermented sample to lower value of oil from unfermented parkiabiglobosa Suggested that fermented Parkiabiglobosa oil had low level of impurities to raw oil sample.Peroxide value ranged from 9.94 – 13.4mεq/kg-1, This resulted to low acid taste in in both oil and low level of rancidity.The result obtained from the study indicated that oil from fermented parkiabiglobosa are good for soap making due to higher saponification value, and could be used for both domestic and industrial purposes. Also, raw oil sample can be employed in the manufacture of, oil paints, cosmeticsand also serve as edible oil due to the level of the unsaturationas indicated in high iodine value and as non-drying oil as observed from the physical properties.The mineral composition as indicated in table2 for the oil contributes to its nutritional values. The values obtained for the raw oil sample indicated higher values in potassium, sodium, calcium, iron, lead, manganese and copper except Magnesium of closed values (190.100 to 190.200). These indicate the advantage of the nutritional value of raw oil sample to fermented oil sample