www.scholarsresearchlibrary.com t Available online a Scholars Research Library Archives of Applied Science Research, 2016, 8 (5):77-84 (http://scholarsresearchlibrary.com/archive.html) ISSN 0975-508X CODEN (USA) AASRC9 77 Scholars Research Library Probing Yeast Fermented Palm Wine Interactions with the Surface of its Plastic Container Eziaku Osarolube 1 and Ogueri Nwaiwu 2 * 1 Department of Physics, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria 2 Research Services, Alpha Altis Ltd, Sir Colin Campbell Building, University of Nottingham Innovation Park, Nottingham, NG7 2TU _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT The internal surface sections of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles of the same make used for storage of yeast fermented palm wine or still water were compared in order to determine if the palm wine drink caused any corrosion or distortion to the plastic surface. Surfaces of triplicate sections from different parts of both plastic bottles were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The yeasts that attached on the palm wine bottle were identified by performing restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the ITS1-5.8SrDNA-ITS2 genes using HaeIII restriction endonuclease. Viable yeast species of Candida ethanolica and Saccharomyces cerevisiae remained attached on plastic bottle internal surface for up to three weeks after the contents were discarded. No pitting or gradual destruction of the plastic surface was observed and the constituent elements of the PET bottles, carbon and oxygen were detected from both samples whereas only the palm wine bottle showed the element potassium and chlorine. The source of chlorine, the major component of polyvinyl chloride plastic found in the bottle used for palm wine storage will need to be verified in the palm wine supply chain. Keywords: Yeasts; palm wine; plastic containers; scanning electron microscopy; energy dispersion x-ray; surface corrosion _____________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Palm wine is a popular local drink from palm tree saps around the world [1] and a source of novel organisms [2, 3]. In Nigeria, the drink is consumed in many regions because it is believed to have several health benefits and it is not uncommon to see nursing mothers who consume the fresh drink possibly due to the anecdotal evidence that the drink increases the flow of breast milk. The drink is sometimes stored and transported to markets in 50-200 L polyvinyl chloride (PVC) based plastic containers and then sold in used beer bottles or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottled water containers sourced from retail outlets. Even though there is the likelihood of introduction of extraneous materials and bacteria and potential leaching of the plastic composites into the palm wine, retail sellers of palm wine reuse plastic bottled water containers because they are cheap and convenient. It is not unusual for palm wine to come into contact with up to five different plastic containers before it is consumed. First during tapping of the drink, plastic containers are used for palm wine (sap) collection from the tree. Then the palm wine is transported to the market with (20-200 L) plastic containers and the buyer will normally transfer the drink to his own plastic container. Before selling to consumers, plastic jugs may be used to pour the drink into reusable plastic water bottles. Different plastic materials are available [4] and they include PVC, PET, high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). The vast majority of containers used for bottling water in Nigeria are made from PET, while the containers lids may be of different material e.g. polystyrene. There are different types of bottled water on sale and it is common knowledge that some bottle materials could be made from a combination of one or more type of plastic.