Bio-transformation of natural oil into industrially useful product (Lauric acid)

Abstract

The production of industrially useful product from coconut oil by the biotransformation process with the help of microbes is a new alternative. Biotransformation studies were conducted using bacterial strain isolated from Rushikulya river beach, Ganjam, Odisha. The isolated microbial strain was characterized and confirmed as Pseudomonas aeruginosa through biochemical and 16s-rDNA analysis. The process parameters were optimized for
both aerobic and anaerobic condition. The growth kinetic study exhibited a long lag phase in anaerobic condition as compared to aerobic condition. Lipase estimation and optimization were carried out by using standard 4-nitrophenol method with suitable substrate.Transformation studies with coconut oil as sole substrate produced fatty acids (lauric acid & its derivatives and others like glycerol, mystric acid in traces) under anaerobic condition.
Fatty acid production was confirmed using GC-MS analysis. The product and substrate kinetics for lauric acid production was studied. Lipase gene was isolated from pseudomonas sp and confirmed. The antimicrobial activity of different concentration of lauric acid was
studied using gram (+ve) and gram-(ve) bacterial sp.