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Title: Production of Oxygenated Fatty Acids from Vegetable Oils by Flavobacterium sp. Strain DS5

Author
item HEO, SHIN-HAENG - CHUNGBUK NATL UNIV KOREA
item Hou, Ching
item KIM, BEOM SOO - CHUNGBUK NATL UNIV KOREA

Submitted to: New Biotechnology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/10/2009
Publication Date: 10/1/2009
Citation: Heo, S., Hou, C.T., Kim, B. 2009. Production of oxygenated fatty acids from vegetable oils by Flavobacterium sp. Strain DS5. New Biotechnology. 26(1/2):105-108.

Interpretive Summary: In this research we found a microbial strain that will lead to the development of a cost-efficient, one-step bioprocess for the production of value-added products directly from vegetable oils. Keto and hydroxy fatty acids are useful industrial chemicals, used in plasticizer, surfactant, lubricant and detergent formulations because of their special chemical properties, such as higher viscosity and reactivity compared with other fatty acids. Oxygenated fatty acids can be used not only as specialty chemicals, but also as bioactive compounds such as antifungal agents. Most oxygenated fatty acids have been produced from free fatty acids. It is rare to use vegetable oils directly for the production of oxygenated fatty acids. From a cost efficient point of view, it is highly desirable to have a one-step process to convert vegetable oils directly to oxygenated fatty acid products. In this study, we carried out the production of oxygenated fatty acids from two vegetable oils, olive oil and soybean oil, by Flavobacterium sp. strain DS5. We found that strain DS5 can convert vegetable oil directly in a one-step process with the addition of a small amount of lipase to produce value-added oxygenated fatty acid products. This finding will lead to the development of a one-step bioprocess for the production of value-added products directly from vegetable oils. Success of this one-step bioprocess will benefit farmers, polymer industries, specialty chemical companies and the U.S. agricultural community.

Technical Abstract: Flavobacterium sp. strain DS5 (NRRL B-14859) was used to convert two vegetable oils, olive oil and soybean oil, directly to oxygenated fatty acids such as 10-ketostearic acid (10-KSA) and 10-hydroxystearic acid (10-HSA). Lipase addition to the culture was required because strain DS5 did not induce lipase activity to release free fatty acids from vegetable oils. 10-KSA production was higher from olive oil than from soybean oil because olive oil contains more oleic acid, the precursor of 10-KSA. The optimum amounts of olive oil and lipase addition for 10-KSA production were determined as 0.3 ml and 1 mg (specific activity = 700 units/mg) per 50 ml culture medium, respectively. At these conditions, 2.8 g/L of 10-KSA and 0.40 g/L of 10-HSA were obtained from olive oil as a substrate.