Growth of Bacteria Lactobacillus brevis and Simultanous Production of Metabolites in Different Media

Vesna Stehlik-Tomas and S. Grba

Prehrambeno-biotehnološki fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb 

Article history:
Received October 20, 1993
Accepted December 30,1994

Summary:
This study presents the investigation of growth and fermentation activity of Lactobacillus brevis bacteria. With the aim of producing highly active starter-cultures for the bakery industry, bacteria L. brevis was cultivated in the medium of mall extract (40 g/L) and in media based on mall extract supplemented with yeast extract, casein peptone, meal extract and addition of minerals. The experiment led to the conclusion that the malt extract may be used as basic substrate for the production of L. brevis. It appears that the growth of bacteria L. brevis, as well as the metabolites production, depend to a large extent on the composition of the medium used. The most satisfying specific growth rate was achieved when the medium was enriched with potassium hydrogen phosphate, magnesium sulphate, and yeast extract (0.77 1/h). On the other hand, the production of metabolites, lactic and acetic acid, was higher when the medium was enriched with potassium hydrogen phosphate and sodium acetate.