Mycoflora and Nutritional Composition of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L) Grains Sampled in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The continuous evaluation of food quality in terms of its nutritional and microbiological status is central to the validation of measures for hazard and critical control point system. This study, was therefore, aimed at determining the mycoflora and the nutritional composition of wheat grains collected from major wheat markets in Lagos, Nigeria. A total of 220 samples were collected from different sellers at different time between June 2012 and December 2015 according to the standard recommended technique of international commission for microbiological specification for foods. The samples were subsequently analyzed for both nutritional and microbial composition using standard recommended techniques. Results obtained depicts different fungal species in the following respective order viz; Penicillium chrysogenum (22.5%), Aspergillus flavus (17.5%), Fusarium solani (15.8%), Aspergillus niger (12.5%), Aspergillus fumigatus (12.0%), Rhizopus stolonifer (10.0%), Alternaria alternata (6.2%) and Trichoderma atroviridae (3.5%) while both the chemical and the proximate compositions of the examined wheat grains exhibited significant disparity but without any significant variation in the patterns of fungal loads. Our results consequently emphasized the importance of wheat as proxy indicator of nutrient rich foods for the malnourished but should be stored under good storage conditions to circumvent the growth and survival of spoilage fungi.