Cultivation of lactic acid bacteria on nutrient media containing soy molasses

Abstract

One of the by-products of the soybean processing is soy molasses. Due to the lack of effective disposal methods, soy molasses often ends up in landfills or is used as liquid fertilizers, which can lead to environmental pollution. At the same time, soy molasses contains a significant amount of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, which can contribute to the effective growth and reproduction of microorganisms, the accumulation of high concentrations of biomass and metabolic products. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the ability of lactic acid bacteria to grow on nutrient media containing soy molasses. The conducted studies allow us to conclude that lactic acid bacteria of different taxonomic groups (representatives of the genus Lactiplantibacillus, Lacticaseibacillus, Levilactobacillus, Lentilactobacillus, Limosilactobacillus, Loigolactobacillus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc, Weissella) grow quite actively, accumulate biomass and acidic metabolic products on media containing soy molasses (2.5–5.0%), mainly on the medium, containing 5% soy molasses. In the context of growing interest in environmentally friendly and cost-effective production methods, the processing of soy waste, including soy molasses, into valuable products during lactic acid fermentation is a promising direction.