Production and isolation of reuterin, a growth inhibitor produced by Lactobacillus reuteri

Abstract

Lactobacillus reuteri is a prominent member of the Lactobacillus population in the gastrointestinal ecosystem of humans, poultry, swine, and other animals. Reuterin is a newly discovered, broad-spectrum antimicrobial substance produced by this species during fermentation of glycerol. In this report, we describe procedures for (i) producing reuterin in sufficient amounts to isolate from a fermentation mixture and (ii) isolating this susbstance by high-perfomance liquid chromatography by using uniformly labeled [14C]glycerol, reuterin was identified as a product of glycerol fermentation associated with the production of β-hydroxypropionic acid and trimethylene glycol.