THE EFFECT OF PROCESSING VARIABLES ON THE NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF PITO - A LOCALLY BREWED ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE IN NIGERIA

This study investigated the effect of different processing variables, such as varieties of grains, supplementation with pineapple juice, use of starter cultures ( L. fermentum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae ), and varied steeping time, on the nutritional quality of pito. The vitamin A and C content, proximate analysis, anti-nutritional values, and mineral content of pito produced under various variables were determined. In all the variables, the highest vitamin A content was recorded in pito produced using the combination of starter cultures (6.99 mg/100 mL), while the highest vitamin C content was recorded in pito produced from grains steeped for 48 hours (5.27 mg/100 mL). The highest moisture content (98.49 %) and alcohol content (2.35 %) were observed in pito produced from maize. The pito produced from grains steeped for 48 hours had the lowest oxalate (5.25 mg/100 mL) and phytate (1.03 mg/100 mL) content, and the highest magnesium (32.50 mg/100 mL) and calcium (82.50 mg/100 mL) content. Pito produced from the combination of both starter cultures ( L. fermentum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) had the highest iron content (6.65 mg/100 mL). All the pito produced using the different variables showed that the beverage is highly nutritious; therefore, Pito produced from either maize or red sorghum as base grain, addition of pineapple juice, combination of Limosilactobacillus fermentum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as starter cultures, and steeping the grains for 48 hours will ensure consistent quality and maximize health benefits of the beverage.