Ki-An Cho

Cellulose production fromGluconobacter oxydans TQ-B2

Gluconobacter oxydans that produces the cellulose was isolated. In order to confirm the chemical features of cellulose, various spectrophtometeric analysis were carried out using electron microscopy, X-ray diffractogram, and CP/MAS13C NMR. The purified cellulose was found to be identical to that ofAcetobacter xylinum. For effective production of cellulose, the various carbon and nitrogen sources, mixture of calcium and magnesium ions, and biotin concentration were investigated in flask cultures. Among the various carbon sources, glucose and sucrose were found to be best for the production of cellulose, with maximum concentration of 2.41 g/L obtained when a mixture of 10 g/L of each glucose and sucrose were used. With regard to the nitrogen sources, when 20 g/L of yeast extract was used, the maximum concentration of bacterial cellulose was reached. The concentration of cellulose was increased with mixture of 2 mM of each Ca2+ and Mg2+. The optimum biotin concentration for the production of cellulose was in the range of 15 to 20 mg/L. At higher biotin concentration (25–35 mg/L), the bacterial cellulose production was lower.

Effect of triton X-100 on compactin production fromPenicillium citrinum

Glucose alone was found to be the most effective carbon source for producing compactin. An initial glucose concentration of 40 g/L gave the highest compactin concentration of 250 mg/L. Among the various nitrogen sources, when 5 g/L of pharmamedia and soybean meal as the sole nitrogen source were used, respectively, the compactin concentration was higher than 250 mg/L. Especially, in the case of the mixture of 6 g/L of pharmamedia and 8 g/L of soybean meal, the compactin concentration was 400 mg/L. To select the best surfactant for effective compactin production, various surfactants were investigated. When Triton X-100 was used, the maximum compactin concentration was 445 mg/L. With the initial concentration ranging from 1.5 to 2.0 g/L, the compactin concentration was the highest at 465–450 g/L. The cell concentration was similar to that of the control without the addition of Triton X-100. On the other hand, when the above 4.0 g/L of Triton X-100 were used, the cell concentration decreased. Using the based results the continuous fed-batch cultures by adding the Triton X-100 were carried out for 10 days in an air-lift bioreactor. When 1.5 g/L of Triton X-100 was added to the culture broth at 0, 4, and 8 days of culture, respectively, the compactin production was increased with the increase of culture time. The maximum compactin concentration after 10 days of culture was 1,200 mg/L, which was about 2.0-fold higher than that of the control without the addition of Triton X-100.

Characterization, stability, and antioxidant activity of Salicornia herbaciea seed oil

We investigated the physicochemical properties, chemical composition, stability and antioxidant activity from seed oil of Salicornia herbaciea grown in Korea. The density, refractive index, acid value, peroxide value, iodine value, saponification value, and unsaponifiable matter of oil were 0.91mg/mL, 1.48 at 20 °C, 1.89mg KOH/g oil, 10.20 mEq/kg oil, 1.08 g I/g oil, 216.21 mg KOH/g oil, and 2.60%, respectively. The major fatty acids were linoleic acid (43.73%), oleic acid (19.81%), arachidic acid (13.52%), and palmitic acid (11.84%), respectively. The oil contained high levels of α-tocopherol (249.2 mg/kg oil), followed by δ-tocopherol (89.3 mg/kg), and γ-tocopherol (75.6 mg/kg oil). The oil was found to have high levels of β-sitosterol (94.5mg/kg oil) and stigmasterol (65.7mg/kg oil), respectively. The total phenol, chlorophyll and β-carotene content of oil was 15.2, 94.5, and 8.2 mg/kg oil, respectively. The oil had good oxidative stability during 60 days of storage in a dark area at 50 °C. The maximum degradation rates of the oil were observed at 242.3 °C (9.5%/min), 382.6 °C (5.2%/min), and 440.7 °C (1.3%/min), respectively, where the rate of the weight decrease increased to a maximum up to this point. The ABTS radical scavenging activity of the oil was increased from 50.2 to 71.8% when the oil concentration extracted by methanol was increased from 100 to 300 μg/mL. This study suggests that S. herbaciea seed oil has potential use in functional foods, cosmetics or pharmaceuticals.