Vol. 8, Issue 9 (2019)

Author(s):
Mridula Steephen, Geetha R, Sathian CT, Radha K and Aparna Sudhakaran V

Abstract:
Skim milk and commercial broth like MRS or M17 is commonly used in the starter culture industry for the propagation of starters, which makes them very costly. So the utility of whey for maintenance of starters was evaluated by estimating the growth rate of lactococci starters like Lactococcus lactis 676, Lactococcus lactis 621, Streptococcus thermophilus 199 and lactobacilli starters like Lactobacillus bulgaricus 253 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus 296. Seven types of whey media viz., whey (W), whey supplemented with 0.3, 0.5 and 1 per cent yeast extract (YE) or peptone (P) was prepared and the growth rate of starter cultures after 18 hours of incubation at optimum temperatures in these media was compared to that obtained in the control medium, skim milk. The results of statistical analysis showed that the whey supplemented with one percent yeast extract (1WYE) supports the growth rate of starter cultures to a significantly higher level when compared to all other treatment whey media and skim milk medium. The findings of the study revealed the successful use of whey based media for maintenance of lactic cultures at lower cost.