Application of a Biosurfactant Produced by Bacillus cereus UCP 1615 from Waste Frying Oil as an Emulsifier in a Cookie Formulation

Italo J B Durval,Leonie A Sarubbo,Beatriz G Ribeiro,Raquel D Rufino,Jaciana S Aguiar,Attilio Converti

doi:10.3390/fermentation7030189

Abstract

Biosurfactants have attracted increasing interest from the food industry due to their emulsifying, foaming and solubilizing properties. However, the industrial use of microbial biosurfactants has been hampered by the high production costs related mainly to the use of expensive substrates. The search for low-cost alternative substrates is one of the strategies adopted to overcome this problem. In the present study, a biosurfactant produced by Bacillus cereus UCP1615 by fermentation in a medium supplemented with waste frying soybean oil as a low-cost substrate was evaluated as a bioemulsifier for the production of cookies. The biosurfactant was evaluated for its emulsifying capacity against different vegetable oils, antioxidant activity and toxicity, demonstrating favorable results for use in food. In particular, it showed satisfactory antioxidant activity at the tested concentrations and no cytotoxicity to the L929 (mouse fibroblast) and Vero (monkey kidney epithelial) cell lines using the MTT assay. The biosurfactant was then added at different concentrations (0.25%, 0.5% and 1%) to a standard cookie dough formulation to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics of the product. Cookies formulated with the biosurfactant exhibited similar energy and physical characteristics to those obtained with the standard formulation but with a lower moisture content. The biosurfactant also ensured a good preservation of the cookie texture after 45 days of storage. These results suggest that the biosurfactant has a potential application as a green emulsifier in accordance with the demands of the current market for biocompatible products.

Highlights

Globalization and the growth of the population have promoted the expansion of the production of, and investments in, complex food supply dynamics
The biosurfactant produced by Bacillus cereus UCP 1615 was submitted to the MTT assay to monitor the response of the cells in the cultures and determine the viability of the biosurfactant for human consumption
The present findings demonstrate that the biosurfactant produced by Bacillus cereus

Summary

Introduction

Globalization and the growth of the population have promoted the expansion of the production of, and investments in, complex food supply dynamics. The search for “green” ingredients has intensified in the food industry thanks to the progress of studies and the increase in competition in the sector as well as the growing interest of consumers for natural ingredients over synthetic additives [3]. This interest is mainly associated with the growing demand for natural, organic and vegan food [4]. Biosurfactants are promising products obtained from biological sources whose attractiveness is due to their biodegradability, specific bioactivity, sustainable production and low toxicity [5,6] These features give biosurfactants considerable potential for practical applications in the food, cosmetic, healthcare, biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors [5]

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