Effect of inoculum size
To study the influence of inoculum size on the lactic acid production, different inoculum levels (1-5%, v/v) were added to the fermentation medium (Fig. 4). The lactose utilization and lactic acid production increased with the increase in inoculum size up to 2% (v/v), thereafter no improvement in both the functions was observed. The maximum lactic acid production of 33.72 g/L was observed with 2-4% (v/v) inoculum of bacterial culture. The low lactic acid production at 1% (v/v) inoculum level could be attributed to the low density of starter culture.