Abstract
Conventional culture media are expensive owing to their constituents. Thus, several studies have sought to develop and evaluate the efficacy of alternative, low-cost culture media, in most cases, using natural and easily accessible raw materials. The present study is a literature review, observing various formulations of culture media based on products of plant origin for the growth of microorganisms and production of microbial compounds of industrial interest. In most formulations, vegetable substrates, such as soy, certain beans, corn, and rice, were used in addition to hortofruticultural products. Compared to conventional media, the alternative culture media often present satisfactory results in terms of microbial growth efficiency and production cost.
Highlights
Ways of reusing food waste have been constantly developed and improved, as food waste reaches alarming levels today (Ramírez et al, 2020)
Numerous raw materials exist for preparing these media that can be used for microbial growth or for other purposes, such as selective, differential media, and media used to stimulate microbial compound production (Rouf et al, 2017)
The author reports that, with the exception of the rice-based medium, all other media proved effective in growing the tested microorganisms, which included bacteria and fungi commonly associated with food spoilage or diseases (Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, B. cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Penicillium sp., and Aspergillus sp.)
Summary
Ways of reusing food waste have been constantly developed and improved, as food waste reaches alarming levels today (Ramírez et al, 2020). Some studies have noted that vegetable-based formulations maybe advantageous as alternative (non-commercial) culture media, since these substrates provide several nutrients, including proteins, essential for the growth of microorganisms (Ravimannan & Pathmanathan, 2016). These methods are in development, aiming at improved sustainability using waste products or parts of food plants that are rarely used in human food, such as stems and vegetable peels. The objective is to provide as scientific basis for, and encourage the development and use of, these culture media in educational and research institutions with financial limitations for the acquisition of conventional culture media
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