Abstract
BackgroundProdigiosin produced by Serratia marcescens is a promising drug owing to its reported characteristics of having antifungal, immunosuppressive and antiproliferative activity. From an industrial point of view the necessity to obtain a suitable medium to simultaneously enhance the growth of Serratia marcescens and the pigment production was the aim of this work. The usage of individual fatty acid as substrate in industries would be cost-effective in the long run and this paved the way for us to try the effect of different fatty acid-containing seeds and oils of peanut, sesame and coconut as source of substrate.ResultsThe addition of sugars only showed slight enhancement of prodigiosin production in nutrient broth but not in fatty acid containing seed medium. The powdered peanut broth had supported better growth of Serratia marcescens and higher yield of prodigiosin when compared with the existing nutrient broth and peptone glycerol broth. A block in prodigiosin production was seen above 30°C in nutrient broth, but the fatty acid seed medium used by us supported prodigiosin production upto 42°C though the yields were lower than what was obtained at 28°C. From the results, the fatty acid form of carbon source has a role to play in enhanced cell growth and prodigiosin production.ConclusionWe conclude by reporting that the powdered and sieved peanut seed of different quality grades were consistent in yielding a fourty fold increase in prodigiosin production over the existing media. A literature survey on the composition of the different media components in nutrient broth, peptone glycerol broth and the fatty acid containing seeds and oils enabled us to propose that the saturated form of fatty acid has a role to play in enhanced cell growth and prodigiosin production. This work has also enabled us to report that the temperature related block of prodigiosin biosynthesis varies with different media and the powdered peanut broth supports prodigiosin production at higher temperatures. The medium suggested in this work is best suitable from an industrial point of view in being economically feasible, in terms of the higher prodigiosin yield and the extraction of prodigiosin described in this paper is simple with minimal wastage.
Highlights
Prodigiosin produced by Serratia marcescens is a promising drug owing to its reported characteristics of having antifungal, immunosuppressive and antiproliferative activity
Growth of serratia marcescens in different media at 28°C, 30°C and 37°C As indicated from Table 1 the crushed sesame seed broth gave the maximum yield of prodigiosin at 28°C, 30°C, and 37°C when compared to nutrient broth and peptone glycerol broth
The final conclusion based on the experimental results could be that the fatty acid form of carbon source is a better substrate for the growth of Serratia marcescens than sugars
Summary
Prodigiosin produced by Serratia marcescens is a promising drug owing to its reported characteristics of having antifungal, immunosuppressive and antiproliferative activity. From an industrial point of view the necessity to obtain a suitable medium to simultaneously enhance the growth of Serratia marcescens and the pigment production was the aim of this work. Serratia can be distinguished from other genera by its production of three special enzymes DNAase, lipase and gelatinase. Another characteristic feature of the Serratia among the Klebsiellaea is the production of cell associated red color pigment. Like other Enterobacteriaceae, grow well on ordinary media under anaerobic and aerobic conditions. They grow well on synthetic media using various compounds as a single carbon source. Optimum growth of all strains of Serratia has been observed at pH 9 and at temperatures from 20–37°C
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