Screening of Acetic Acid Producing Microorganisms from Decomposed Fruits for Vinegar Production

Abstract

Acetic acid bacteria capable of growing at 30&#176C - 37&#176C were collected from various decomposed fruits available in Bangladeshi local markets in order to assess their suitability for vinegar production. Initially, 42 microorganisms were isolated from decomposed fruits like grapes, mangoes, pineapples, oranges, safeda etc. during summer when temperature reaches up to 37&#176C. Then their growths were checked in YPG medium containing various ethanol concentrations at different time point at 37&#176C. From the preliminary screening, 15 Gram negative bacterial isolates have produced halos or yellow zone around the colonies on YPG agar plate at 37&#176C which indicated acetic acid production capability by those bacteria. Furthermore, acetic acid production rates were determined by titration method and about 3 - 6.9 gm/100ml acetic acid were estimated by using 4% ethanol at 37&#176C by shaking culture for 3 days. Several biochemical analysis revealed that our collection contained huge amount of acetic acid producing bacteria and some of them could be potential candidates for vinegar production.