Effect of Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma viride on the Nutritional Composition of Alkali Pretreated Groundnut Husk

The effects of Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma viride on the nutritional composition of 2 M NaOH pre-treated groundnut husk (GH) were studied. The pre-treated groundnut husk (GH) was subjected to monoculture fermentation using A. niger and T. viride. The lignin and cellulose contents, proximate nutrient composition, anti-nutrients, minerals and amino acid contents were evaluated. The proximate composition of GH differed from one monoculture treatment to another. T. viride treatment gave the best as a result of 73% increase in protein with significant (p<0.05) decrease in anti-nutritional content such as phytate (51.22 g/100 g) and alkaloid (7 g/100 g). Significantly (p<0.05) higher values of phosphorous (774 ppm), zinc (20.42 ppm) and magnesium (6.94 ppm) were observed for all fermented GH compared to untreated GH (control), while significantly (p<0.05) lower values of copper (0.02 ppm), sodium (30 ppm) and iron (0.11 ppm) were observed for all fermented GH compared to control. Except for aspartate, there was general decrease in amino acid content of all cultured with T. viride and A. niger GH compared to the standard feed protein used to standardize the amino acid analyser. The amino acid contents of CGH A. niger were slightly higher than CGH T. viride. The results of this study indicate that T. viride is a potentially viable microorganism for the production of enriched and safe GH as an animal feed alternative.