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Tourmaline ceramic balls stimulate growth and metabolism of three fermentation microorganisms

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Abstract

Effects of tourmaline ceramic balls on growth and metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Aspergillus oryzae were studied. Treatments with 3, 6, 9 or 12 g of tourmaline ceramic balls in a 50 ml culture showed significant stimulation of the growth of the three microorganisms. In optimal treatments with 12 g of tourmaline balls, the growth of S. cerevisiae, L. acidophilus, and A. oryzae was increased by 34, 32 and 10%, respectively. After 72 h fermentation of S. cerevisiae, total carbohydrate content in the culture medium was decreased by 65% and ethanol production was increased by 150%. Total carbohydrate content was decreased by 80% and the pH value was decreased by 0.3, as a result of organic acid production in the medium of L. acidophilus after 72 h fermentation. In the case of A. oryzae, enzyme activities of protease and amylase were increased by 90 and 31%, respectively, after 96 h fermentation. Results indicated that tourmaline stimulates initiation of growth in the early lag stage and increases production of metabolites at a later stage of fermentation. The strong stimulatory effect of tourmaline on growth, utilization of substrates and production of metabolites in the three microorganisms suggests a potential application in the fermentation industry.

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Dr. Qiaoping Yuan at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA, for reading the manuscript and valuable suggestions to this research. This research was supported by Science and Technology Programs of Guangdong Province (program number 2006B20101005).

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  1. Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Biotechnology for Plant Development and College of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China

    He Ni, Ling Li & Hai-Hang Li

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  1. He Ni
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  2. Ling Li
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  3. Hai-Hang Li
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Correspondence to Hai-Hang Li.

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Ni, H., Li, L. & Li, HH. Tourmaline ceramic balls stimulate growth and metabolism of three fermentation microorganisms. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 24, 725–731 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-007-9529-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-007-9529-x

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