Modelling and validation of Lactobacillus plantarum fermentations in cereal-based media with different sugar concentrations and buffering capacities

Charalampopoulos, D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1269-8402, Vazquez, J. A. and Pandiella, S. S. (2009) Modelling and validation of Lactobacillus plantarum fermentations in cereal-based media with different sugar concentrations and buffering capacities. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 44 (2-3). pp. 96-105. ISSN 1369-703X doi: 10.1016/j.bej.2008.11.004

Abstract/Summary

An unstructured mathematical model is proposed to describe the fermentation kinetics of growth, lactic acid production, pH and sugar consumption by Lactobacillus plantarum as a function of the buffering capacity and initial glucose concentration of the culture media. Initially the experimental data of L plantarum fermentations in synthetic media with different buffering capacity and glucose were fitted to a set of primary models. Later the parameters obtained from these models were used to establish mathematical relationships with the independent variables tested. The models were validated with 6 fermentations of L. plantarum in different cereal-based media. In most cases the proposed models adequately describe the biochemical changes taking place during fermentation and are a promising approach for the formulation of cereal-based probiotic foods. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.