Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from fresh
sugar cane juice. It was found that several isolates
exhibited a clear zone and growth on deMan, Rogosa,
Sharpe (MRS) agar supplemented with sodium azide,
bromocresol purple and sucrose. However, only 17
isolates which formed large yellow areas were selected
for further investigations. These isolates were
further identified according to their morphological
and biochemical characteristics. It was found that 10
of these isolates were homofermenters. One of these
10 isolates was selected for mutagenesis using chemical
(Ethidium bromide) and physical (UV-B) mutagens
followed by biochemical characterisation. A total
of 112 mutants were isolated and 9 homofermentative
isolates were further investigated for their ability to
produce lactic acid. 1
H-NMR spectroscopy confirmed
that all mutant isolates produced lactic acid as the
sole fermentation product.