Propionibacterium freudenreichii is a commercially important bacterium that is well-known for its role as ripening starter in the
cheese industry and its probiotic potential. These bacteria may beneficially modulate the intestinal ecosystem and can exert anti-neoplastic
effects via the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), acetate and propionate. Several studies have demonstrated that the SCFA production
by P. freudenreichii is responsible for its probiotic abilities. The aim of this work was to optimize the acetate and propionate production
by P. freudenreichii towards its future use as a nutraceutical agent.
In order to optimize the production of the abovementioned SCFAs in a minimal synthetic media the different composition of the several components
were evaluated. Characterization of the acetate and propionate production in a medium mimicking the content of the human colon
(MCHC) and a medium used by colorectal carcinoma cell lines (DMEM) was performed.
The basal medium (BM) was found to be the most promising regarding the production of the SCFAs, showing 0.530 ± 0.011 g L-1 of biomass;
high acetate and propionate yields (0.216 ± 0.001 g g-1 and 0.572 ± 0.002 g g-1, respectively), as well as high productivities (0.031 ± 0.000 g L-1
h-1 and 0.010 ± 0.000 g L-1 h-1, respectively). In the MCHC and DMEM media, it was possible to observe microbial growth (0.234 ± 0.006 g L-1 and
1.54 ± 0.00 g L-1, respectively); however the amounts of acetate and propionate were lower than the ones produced in BM medium.
The results suggest that acetate and propionate production depends not only on the substrate type, but also on the medium constituents,
being the simplest medium the one that show higher productivities as P. freudenreichii show low SCFA production when grown in MCHC and
DMEM media. Future work will be conducted in order the increase bacteria growth and SCFA production in those media as this represents an
essential feature for its use as a nutraceutical
