Propionic acid production in cheese whey by ruminal bacteria / Produção de ácido propiônico em soro de queijo por bactéria do rúmen bovino

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

Propionic acid is an organic acid of three carbons that has been mainly used to preserve rations, grains and foods. Alternative strategies for application of propionic acid have been proposed, including their utilization in animal feeds. In this work, 38 bacteria were isolated from the bovine rumen and showed to produce organic acids using lactose from cheese whey. Only six isolates produced propionic acid, and the isolate named 22A showed the highest propionic acid production, and was selected for further study. The isolate 22A was a Gramnegative rod that utilized several carbon sources, including carbohydrates (glucose, lactose, maltose, sacarose, celobiose and mannose ), organic acids (lactate, piruvate, malate, fumarate and succinate) and glycerol. Regardless of the carbon source used, propionic acid was always the major fermentation end-product. Our results indicated that glycerol and succinate were the carbon sources that provided highest product yield and carbon recovery. Biomass production and product yield in mineral media were both affected by yeast extract concentration. When yeast extract (2 g/L) was added to the culture medium, the concentration of biomass and product formation increased about 270 % and 260 % respectively, compared to control treatments without yeast extract. The cultivation of the isolate 22A in diluted cheese whey (14 mM lactose) showed that the carbon source was being completely consumed after 16 hours of incubation and that the propionic acid yield and the acetate:propionato ratio were 2,37 mol/mol and 0,51, respectively. When increasing concentrations of lactose were added to the basal medium without pH contro1, a decrease in propionic acid yield and the appearance of other end-products was observed. Under these conditions, the pH of the culture medium decreased rapidly, reaching values of approximately 4,3 after 24 hours of incubation, for all the lactose concentrations tested. The control of pH in 6,8 using NaOH did not stimulate the production of propionic acid by isolate 22A, but lactose consumption increased to approximately 80 % in concentrations up to 338,70 mM. When isolate 22A was cultivated in basal medium with initial pH of 8,0 the specific growth rate and yield of propionic acid were 0,317 h-1 and 2,01 mol/mol, respectively. These results were better than those obtained at pH 7,0. These results indicated that isolated 22A has potential for propionic acid production in cheese whey. However, further work is needed to improve the cultivation system and to optimize the propionic acid yield.

ASSUNTO(S)

fermentação Ácido propiônico fermentation biologia e fisiologia dos microorganismos propionic acid cheese whey soro de queijo

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