Optimizing dairy-free & animal-free culture media for industrial-scale production of Bifidobacterium
Objective
In recent years, consumer awareness towards the health potential of probiotics-based functional food has driven the interest in Bifidobacteria strains. On the industrial scale, the production of probiotics often relies on dairy-derived culture media, limiting their suitability for dairy-intolerant individuals and animal-free markets. In this study, we evaluated the potential of yeast peptones to produce Bifidobacteria.
Method
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis DSM 10140 was grown in a culture media previously optimized to produce the strain at industrial scale. Four different nitrogen sources were compared: casein peptone, rice peptone and two different yeast peptones (YP1 and NuCel® 789 MG). After a pre-screening in microtiter plate, growth kinetics and cell viability (CFU count and flow cytometry) were monitored at the end of the fermentation in flasks and 1-liter bioreactors.
Results
In flasks, casein peptone and NuCel® 789 MG are supporting faster growth and from 0,5 to 1,3 log higher cell counts than YP1 and rice peptone. Percentages of viable cells obtained for casein, YP1 and NuCel® 789 MG are very close, ranging from 94% to 98%. Only 69% of the bacterial cells obtained with rice peptone are viable. In bioreactors, CFU counts are 0,6 and 1,4 log higher for YP1 and NuCel® 789 MG when compared to casein peptone. The percentage of viable cells obtained for NuCel® 789 MG, YP1 and casein peptone are 87%, 74% and 69% respectively.
Conclusions
Our results demonstrate the potential of yeast peptones as fermentation nutrients for the industrial production of active Bifidobacteria, offering a dairy-free alternative to the probiotic industry.