Cashew apples: Physico-chemical analysis and occurrence of yeasts in plantations north of Côte d'Ivoire for processing into bioethanol and fermented beverages

The cashew apple is a pseudo-fruit that, once removed from the nut, is abandoned on plantations because the apple is not valued. The aim of this research is therefore to add value to the cashew apple by isolation yeasts with a view to fermenting this substrate to produce bioethanol and fermented beverages. Cashew apples from farmers' plantations in northern Côte d'Ivoire were subjected to physico-chemical analysis and yeast isolation. These isolated yeasts were screened for fermentative capacity and the influence of glucose, NaCl and ethanol on growth. The results indicate that cashew apples have an acid pH of 3.77 ± 0.03 with a high water content of 89.58 ± 0.49%. In addition, vitamin C content was 13.15 ± 0.12 mg/100 g and the Brix value was 8.6. Forty-one (41) yeasts were isolated and were able to produce C02 in liquid medium with different production levels. In the end, seven (7) isolates were selected as potential starters as they were able to resist the influence of NaCl, glucose and ethanol on growth.