III. LIPOLYTIC ACTIVITY1

Abstract

The following lactic acid bacteria, when tested with the agar-well method, were able to hydrolyze tributyrin and triolein, but not soybean oil: Streptococcus lactis, Streptococcus cremoris, Streptococcus diacetilactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pediococcus cerevisiae, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus pentosus, and Lactobacillus brevis. Tributyrin only was hydrolyzed by Lactobacillus helveticus. Some free fatty acids were liberated by L. casei, L. delbrueckii, and S. thermophilus in soymilk (1.9% soybean lipids) and in MRS broth fortified with 2.0% soybean oil during a 14-day period of incubation. Although L. casei and L. delbrueckii were more active in soymilk than was S. thermophilus, they released about 10% of the amount of free fatty acids liberated by Candida lipolytica during a similar incubation period.