Production and Structural Characterization ofLactobacillus helveticusDerived Biosurfactant

Abstract

A probiotic strain oflactobacilliwas isolated from traditional soft Churpi cheese of Yak milk and found positive for biosurfactant production.Lactobacillireduced the surface tension of phosphate buffer saline (PBS) from 72.0 to 39.5 mNm−1pH 7.2 and its critical micelle concentration (CMC) was found to be 2.5 mg mL−1. Low cost production ofLactobacilliderived biosurfactant was carried out at lab scale fermenter which yields 0.8 mg mL−1biosurfactant. The biosurfactant was found least phytotoxic and cytotoxic as compared to the rhamnolipid and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) at different concentration. Structural attributes of biosurfactant were determined by FTIR, NMR (1H and13C), UPLC-MS, and fatty acid analysis by GCMS which confirmed the presence of glycolipid type of biosurfactant closely similar to xylolipids. Biosurfactant is mainly constituted by lipid and sugar fractions. The present study outcomes provide valuable information on structural characterization of the biosurfactant produced byL. helveticusMRTL91. These findings are encouraging for the application ofLactobacilliderived biosurfactant as nontoxic surface active agents in the emerging field of biomedical applications.