Screening of Diverse Micronutrients and Macronutrients For Dextran Production by Weissella sp Using Plackett-Burman Design

Exo-polysaccharides like dextran produced by Weissella sp. have a wide range of applications in the food, pharmaceutical and other industries. This biopolymer and its derivatives like iron dextran, clinical dextran are rapidly emerging as a new and industrially important products. Dextran a polymer of glucose is produced using sucrose rich media with nitrogen source. It also requires efficient micronutrients and macronutrients for production. In the present study diverse micronutrients (chlorides) like ferric chloride, cupric chloride, magnesium chloride, manganese chloride, calcium chloride, cobalt chloride, mercuric chloride (sulphates ) like ferrous sulphate, copper sulphate, magnesium sulphate, manganese sulphate, zinc sulphate, calcium sulphate, potassium hydrogen sulphate and macronutrients (phosphate) like dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, calcium phosphate, aluminium phosphate, disodium hydrogen phosphate and zinc phosphate were screened using statistical design like PlackettBurman. An eight experimental design of Plackett-Burman was used and seven sources were screened. Broth analysis indicated presence of more fructose and very less glucose as it was used for exopolysccharide production. Dextran was recovered from broth by alcohol precipitation. The results indicated that there was higher dextran production in chloride micronutrients like magnesium chloride, manganese chloride, sulphate micronutrients like magnesium sulphate, manganese sulphate and macronutrient like dipotassium hydrogen phosphate. These studies indicate that micronutrients and macronutrients significantly influence dextran production. These should be included in optimized production media for commercial production of dextran.