Anaerobic cultivation processes of probiotic bacteria in the BioLector XT microbioreactor
Probiotics are living bacteria that are said to have a health-promoting benefit and biofunctional effects on the human organism. They are commonly used to increase the number of desirable bacteria in the intestine and to regenerate the intestinal flora, for example after antibiotic treatments.
That is one reason why the market for probiotics or probiotic nutritional supplements has greatly increased in value. The research field of the human intestinal microbiome and its health-promoting benefits is particularly important for the nutrition industry. Therefore, scientific research on anaerobic or microaerophilic cultivation techniques, such as the cultivation of probiotics under microbiome-like conditions, is essential. Probiotics include a whole range of anaerobic bacteria such as Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium. Among the various probiotic bacteria, Bifidobacterium spp. is one of the most widely used and studied probiotic bacterium species. They are classified as strict anaerobes due to the incapability of oxygen respiration and growth under aerobic cultivation conditions an they are a major member of the dominant human gut microbiota.
They play a significant role in controlling the pH through the release of lactic and acetic acids, which restrict the growth of many potential pathogenic bacteria. In the intestinal tract of breast-fed infants, Bifidobacterium is the predominant cell species. It accounts for more than 80% of microorganisms in the intestine. There are more than 200 known species of Lactobacillus, the largest and most diverse genus within the lactic acid bacteria that is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Lactobacillus spp. have been deployed and studied extensively as fermentation starter cultures for dairy products or probiotics due to their applied health potential.
In this application note we present anaerobic cultivation experiments using the BioLector XT microbioreactor in combination with the gassing lid.
