Abstract

STUDY OF ORGANISM PRODUCING BETA-GLUCAN AND LOOKING FOR ITS PREBIOTIC POTENTIAL

Rutuja P. Gore and Savanta V. Raut*

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Abstract

Research in food science focuses on understanding the microbiota's health benefits, particularly the role of dietary fibers like β-glucan in shaping gut microbiota. Its production involves complex enzymatic reactions in fungi and metabolic processes in bacteria. Extraction and quantification methods vary, with hot water extraction and acid base extraction is common. This study aims to isolate β-glucan-producing strains like Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus niger, and any Bacterium, evaluate their growth in synthetic and crude media, and assess their prebiotic potential using Lactobacillus rhamnosus as control standard. Results contribute to understanding β-glucan's suitability as a prebiotic for promoting human health. Various growth parameters such as growth curve, pH change, and glucose levels were monitored to assess β-glucan production. A. niger exhibited the highest production of β-glucan, followed by S. cerevisiae and the soil isolate. Different crude media were tested for optimizing β-glucan production, with the mixed broth showing the most promising results. The soil bacterium on subjected to Vitek revealed that the organism is Bacillus cereus. The extracted β-glucan was tested for its prebiotic potential against Lactobacillus rhamnosus, with A. niger-derived β-glucan showing the highest prebiotic index i.e 2.8 compared to others have prebiotic index of less than 1. Additionally, the prebiotic activity score was calculated, with A. niger-derived β-glucan displaying a score1.21, indicating significant growth stimulation of probiotic bacteria. The study successfully isolated organisms capable of producing β-glucan, with Aspergillus niger showing the most promising results. Through rigorous experimentation in synthetic and crude media, A. niger consistently demonstrated robust growth and β-glucan production. Mixed broth media emerged as particularly effective in enhancing β-glucan synthesis, suggesting the importance of media optimization for maximizing bioactive compound production. The study lays the groundwork for further research into harnessing the full potential of A. niger-derived β-glucan for various industrial, biomedical, and nutritional applications.

Keywords: Beta-glucan, Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bacillus cereus, Synthetic media, Crude media.