Obtention of probiotic additive with Lactobacillus pentosus LB-31 for animal production

Abstract

Introduction: The culture of Lactobacillus pentosus LB-31 has activity as probiotic and there is no process for obtaining it at a large volume.

Objective: To define the process for obtaining a probiotic with Lactobacillus pentosus LB-31 for animal production.

Methods: It was designed an economical culture medium and there were selected the inoculum characteristics. There were evaluated the operating conditions in laboratory bioreactors and culture stability. Different scale-up criteria were studied, and probiotic activity was assessed in broilers and lambs.

Results: The highest concentrations of LB-31 were obtained in the medium composed of sugar cane molasses, urea, sodium acetate and ammonium citrate. Complete inoculum culture did not affect LB-31 growth. The best growth parameters were achieved by shaking the culture at 50 min^-1 every 2 h at 37°C and an initial pH of 6.5 ± 0.2. The bioreactor capacity affected the timing of the LB-31 growth phases, and it was not necessary to control pH and dissolved oxygen. It was found that the probiotic was stable for 14 days at room temperature and 60 days in refrigeration. The constant mixing time criterion was adequate to scale the fermentation to 30 L. Animal studies confirmed that LB-31 produces probiotic activity in broilers, improves voluntary intake of lambs, and reduces blood glucose and phosphorus.

Conclusions: The process of obtaining the probiotic is simple, scalable, economically feasible and maintains its efficacy in animals.