Optimization of production process for industrialization of probiotics feed additives as antibiotic alternatives

Abstract

Probiotics are microorganisms confer a health benefit on the host with special focus on modulation of the host intestinal microbiota. Due to Korea has created a blanket ban on all antibiotics in animal feed in July 2011, the volume of research related to probiotics has been expanding rapidly. Consequently, technological advances in the large-scale production and lyophilization are needed by probiotic-related industries for producing probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for commercial use. Lactobacillus plantarum GS1 (LP-GS1), as a variant produced by genome shuffling, has stronger antibacterical activity against E.coli K99 (one of the leading bacterial causes of diarrhea in young livestocks) than the wild type. Therefore it has a good business prospect and a huge market value as an antibiotic alternative. We used response surface methodology technology (RSM) to establish the best conditions for mass production of LP-GS1 while ensuring low production cost and high survival rate. Through feeding experiments, we also found that dietary supplementation of probiotics benefited growth performance and intestinal flora health at the early stage of the post-weaning period in piglets. It was proved that LP-GS1 could be used as a substitute for antibiotics by animal feeding experiment.