a b s t r a c t
In the fermentation process of henequen (Agave fourcroydes Lem.) leaf juice, complemented with industrial
molasses, the use of an inoculum comprising two yeasts: Kluyveromyces marxianus (isolated from the
henequen plant) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (commercial strain) was studied. An ethanol production of
5.22 ± 1.087% v/v was obtained. Contrary to expected, a decrease on ethanol production was observed
with the use of the K. marxianus strain. The best results were obtained when a mixture of 25% K. marxianus
and 75% S. cerevisiae or S. cerevisiae alone were used with an initial inoculum concentration of
3 107 cell mL1. Furthermore, it was possible to detect a final concentration of approximately 2–
4 g L1 of reducing sugars that are not metabolized by the yeasts for the ethanol production. These results
show that although the use of a mixture of yeasts can be of interest for the production of alcoholic beverages,
it can be the opposite in the case of ethanol production for industrial purposes where manipulation
of two strains can raise the production costs.