Biotechnology Letters 2007-04-01

Biotransformation of phenylpyruvic acid to phenyllactic acid by growing and resting cells of a Lactobacillus sp.

Xingfeng Li, Bo Jiang, Beilei Pan

Index: Biotechnol. Lett. 29(4) , 593-7, (2007)

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Abstract

Phenyllactic acid (PLA) is a novel antimicrobial compound derived from phenylalanine (Phe). Lactobacillus sp. SK007, having high PLA-producing ability, was isolated from Chinese traditional pickles. When 6.1 mM phenylpyruvic acid (PPA) was used to replace Phe as substrate at the same concentration, PLA production increased 14-fold and the fermentation time decreased from 72 h to 24 h with growing cells. With resting cells, however, 6.8 mM PLA could be obtained as optimal yield using the following conditions: 12 mM PPA, 55 mM glucose, pH 7.5, 35 degrees C and 4 h.