OPTIMIZATION OF PROBIOTIC Lactobacillus casei ATCC 334 PRODUCTION USING DATE POWDER AS CARBON SOURCE

This study was conducted to optimize culture conditions for economic production of a probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus casei ATCC 334, in which palm date powder was applied for the first time as a low-cost main carbon source. The effect of eleven factors on bacterial growth was investigated using the Taguchi experimental design, and three factors including palm date powder, typtone and agitation rate were found to be the most significant parameters. The optimum conditions including date powder concentration, 38 g/L; typtone concentration, 30 g/L; and an agitation rate of 320 rpm were determined by response surface methodology of Box-Behnken. A third-order polynomial model was suggested to predict the design space following which the predicted values were validated experimentally. The maximum log value of the viable cells in the optimized alternative medium was 9.97 at 24 h of incubation which was comparable to that obtained in the complex and expensive MRS medium (10.06).