FUW TRENDS IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(A Peer Review Journal)
e–ISSN: 2408–5162; p–ISSN: 2048–5170
keywords: Microbial protein, production, prospects, challenges
The increase in protein malnutrition due to low quality proteins in food supply, especially in developing countries, has stimulated the search for new and alternative sources of protein, both in human foods and animal feeds. The production of microbial protein or single cell protein (SCP) is revolutionizing protein farming and is, indeed, a key step in reducing the shortage of protein supply. These nonconventional protein sources are products of biotechnological processing of agricultural, industrial and forestry wastes. Single cell proteins or microbial proteins are dehydrated microbial cell culture or purified protein derived from a microbial cell culture, such as bacteria, yeast, algae or filamentous fungi, with potential to be a source of animal or human protein supplement. This type of protein has been cultivated by culturing appropriate microbes on different substrates like starch, corn cob, whey, wheat, starch hydrolysates, hydrocarbon, alcohols, molasses and sugarcane bagasse. The manufacturing of SCP as an alternative source of protein has considerable benefits over conventional sources because of its decreased production time, lower land requirement and ability to be produced in all kind of climates. In spite of the obvious advantages of SCP viz., its nutritive value in terms of protein, vitamins and lipid content, it is accepted with some measure of uneasiness and its chances of substituting conventional protein are still slim; its major disadvantage being its high nucleic acid content and low digestibility. This paper reviews the production of single cell protein, its benefits, safety, acceptability, cost and the limitations associated with their uses, as it portends great promise as an alternative source of proteins.
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