Microbial Production of Optically Pure l -Iditol by Yeast Strains

Abstract

Several yeast strains belonging to genus Candida were found to selectively hydrogenate l -sorbose with enantiomeric specificity, yielding optically pure l -iditol in the culture broth. The most active strain, isolated from a commercial lemon, was identified as Candida intermedia , which produced 50 g of l -iditol per liter from 150 g of l -sorbose per liter during a 5-day fermentation period (35% yield).