Modification of media using food-grade components for the fermentation of and strains in large-scale bioreactors.

Probiotic bacteria continue to receive increasing attention in the food and feed industries. However, the production of and at an industrial scale is challenging because of specific nutrient requirements and conditions, which are complicated and costly. We developed low-cost culture media by modifying the carbon and nitrogen sources for subsp.

Vanillin production by biotransformation of phenolic compounds in fungus, Aspergillus luchuensis.

Vanillin is valuable and popular flavor used in foods and cosmetics. Many bacteria species have the ability to decarboxylate substituted cinnamic acids in order to form vanillin. However, the phenolic biotransformation including vanillin production in a common fungus, the Aspergillus luchuensis, which is used in distilled beverages, has not yet been clarified.

Application of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis coupled with microchip electrophoresis for high-resolution identification of Monascus strains.

Monascus fungi are commonly used for a variety of food products in Asia, and are also known to produce some biologically active compounds. Since the use of Monascus is expected to increase in food industries, strain-level identification and management of Monascus will be needed in the near future. In the present study, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis coupled with microchip electrophoresis was applied for this purpose.

Red yeast rice fermentation by selected Monascus sp. with deep-red color, lovastatin production but no citrinin, and effect of temperature-shift cultivation on lovastatin production.

Monascus pilosus NBRC4520 was selected for functional fermented food inoculation for its high lovastatin and low citrinin production with a deep-red color. For koji (mold rice) with high lovastatin production, separation of the growth phase and lovastatin production phase by shifting the temperature from 30 to 23 degrees C increased lovastatin production by nearly 20 times compared to temperature-constant cultivation. In addition, citrinin was not produced even in the lovastatin production phase, although the pigment was increased.