Cultivation of Lactobacillus crispatus KLB46 isolated from human vagina

Abstract

Bacterial vaginosis can be treated by restoring the normal vaginal flora using lactobacilli. Lactobacillus crispatus KLB46 that was isolated from the human vagina has a strong antimicrobial activity and was grown in a batch and in a continuous fermentor. During batch cultivation, the maximum specific growth rate of L. crispatus KLB 46 was 0.63 h-1 and the highest viable cell count (1.9 × 109 CFU/mL) was obtained at pH 5.5. L. crispatus KLB 46 did not grow well at either pH 3.5 or 7.5. During continuous cultivation, the highest viable cell count (1.53 × 109 CFU/mL) was obtained at a dilution rate of 0.32 h-1. However, the maximum productivity of viable cells was obtained at a dilution rate of 0.52 h-1, and was 7.33 × 1011 CFU L-1 h-1, that is approximately 5 times higher than that obtained from batch culture.