3.2. Effects of fermentation on chemical composition of cotton seed
Table 2 presents the effect of fermentation on the chemical composition of cotton seed. There was significant difference in the crude protein content among the traditionally fermented cotton seeds, unfermented cotton seeds and cotton seeds fermented under controlled conditions. A reduction in the crude protein content after fermentation was observed, decreasing from 22.40% in the unfermented cotton seeds to 13.62% in cotton seeds fermented using a combination of all the four bacterial cultures. This decrease in the crude protein content could be due to several factors, such as the loss of ammonia during fermentation, or the hydrolysis of the protein in the seed, which subsequently provides excellent sources of nitrogen for microbial growth (Sanni and Ogbonna, 1991).