Synthesis of riboflavin by lactic acid bacteria isolated from goat milk and cheese

PACHECO DA SILVA, F.F.; LEBLANC, J.G.; FRANCO, B. D. G. M.

Nantes

Conferencia; Food Micro 2014 (24th International ICFMH Conference); 2014

Goat milk and cheeses are excellent nutrient sources, and their beneficial effects on human health are fully recognized. Lactic acid bacteria are used in the production of fermented foods, and have a lot of beneficial properties. Some lactic acid bacteria have the ability to produce/release beneficial compounds in foods, such as vitamins. Riboflavin is a B-Group vitamin which plays an essential role in cellular metabolism as precursor of important coenzymes, which participate in the redox reactions. The aim of this study was to determine the production of riboflavin by lactic acid bacteria isolated from raw goat milk and goat cheeses produced in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A total of 179 lactic acid bacteria (97 isolates from milk and 92 from cheeses) were used to determine the extracellular and intracellular production of riboflavin by means of a modified microbiological assay, using Lactobacillus casei subsp. rhamnosus ATCC 7469 as indicator strain. Riboflavin production was observed in 15 isolates, four obtained from milk and eleven from cheeses. The average of total riboflavin concentration was 363.673 ng/ml and the values ranged from 129.329 to 531.514 ng/ml. Nine isolates (60%) were able to produce high levels of riboflavin (values above 363.673 ng/ml). There was a significant difference between the averages of the extracellular (240.444 ng/ml) and intracellular (123.228 ng/ml) concentrations, indicating better ability of the isolates to release this vitamin in the medium. On the other hand, there was no difference between the total riboflavin concentrations produced by isolates from raw goat milk samples and isolates from cheese samples. The results of this study suggest that the isolates present a good potential to be used in the production of a variety of bioenriched foods.