Background: L-glutamic acid, the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain and an important
intermediate in metabolism acts as a precursor of γ-amino butyric acid (GABA). In the present study,
culture condition for enhanced glutamic acid production by
Lactobacillus plantarum
MNZ was optimized
and the influence of such conditions on GABA production was evaluated.
Results: Results indicated that glutamic acid increased up to 3-fold (3.35) under the following
condition: pH 4.5, temperature 37°C, 12% (w/v) glucose and 0.7% (w/v) ammonium nitrate; whilst
GABA production was enhanced up to 10-fold under the following condition: pH 4.5, temperature 37
oC,
6% (w/v) glucose and 0.7% (w/v) ammonium nitrate.
Conclusions: This is the first report for dual biosynthesizing activities of a lactic acid bacterium for the
production of glutamic acid and GABA. The results of this study can be further used for developing
functional foods rich inglutamic acid and subsequently GABA as a bioactive compound.
