GB593953A - Improvements in or relating to the production of riboflavin in an aqueous medium - Google Patents

Abstract

Riboflavin - producing mycetes, especially Eremothecium Ashbyii, when grown at 22-34 DEG C. in a medium containing carbohydrates not exceeding 5 per cent, and proteins or their non-toxic degradation-products together with a minor quantity of wheat germ, the liquor being subjected to vigorous agitation in a continuous current of sterile humidified air during the fermentation, afford increased yields of the vitamin. Advantageously, glucose, sucrose including brown sugar, malt syrup molasses including black strap molasses, and hydrolysed starch or a starch-containing material may be used as carbohydrates, while peptones, crude or refined, are suitable proteins. Stock cultures of E. Ashbyii are carried on a molasses-peptone agar medium adjusted to pH 6.0, incubated at 28 DEG C. and transferred every week to a fresh medium, from which inocula for large-volume fermentations are prepared by incubating at 28 DEG C. for about 3 days, a portion of the stock culture on fresh molasses-peptone "slants." In examples: (1) brown sugar, neopeptone, wheat germ, beef extract, monobasic potassium dihydrogenphosphate, sodium chloride and distilled water medium at pH 6.0 is sterilized and a current of air is led into the cooled fermenter, prior to inoculation with "starter" culture; (2) a fermentation conducted exactly as in (1), substituting a medium comprising cane molasses syrup, neopeptone, peptone, tryptone, beef extract, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium chloride and distilled water, at pH 6.0 and using sterile cane molasses solution as carbohydrate.