An exopolysaccharide from a probiotic: Biosynthesis dynamics, composition and emulsifying activity

An exopolysaccharide (EPS) was isolated from Bacillus coagulans RK-02. Time course accumulation of EPS was studied with respect to biomass growth. The probiotic bacterium produces an EPS during exponential and stationary growth phases. Growth kinetics of the producer organism was characterized. The probiotic bacterium exhibited high affinity for the growth limiting substrate and hence grows at a higher specific growth rate. Based on HPLC and FTIR analyses, the EPS was found to be heteropolymer composed of galactose, mannose, fucose, glucose and glucosamine. The EPS showed significant emulsifying activities in different vegetable oils/hydrocarbon substrates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on a bacterial EPS with fucose as a constituent sugar and also the first report on an EPS from B. coagulans. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.