Separation of gamma-aminobutyric acid from fermented broth

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a nonproteinaceous amino acid that is widely distributed in nature and acts as the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. This study aimed to find a separation method for getting high-purity GABA from a fermented broth. Firstly, a fermented broth with a high content of GABA (reaching 997 +/- 51 mM) was prepared by fermentation with Lactobacillus brevis NCL912. GABA purification was conducted by successive centrifugation, filtration, decoloration, desalination, ion-exchange chromatography (IEC), and crystallization. Inorganic salt (Na2SO4) was removed from the both by desalination with 70% ethanol solution. A ninhydrin test strip was designed for the real-time detection of GABA during IEC. The recovery rate for the whole purification process was about 50%. The purified product was characterized by thin-layer chromatography and HPLC, and its purity reached 98.66 +/- 2.36%.