3.3. Effect of sucrose concentration on cell growth and kefiran
production
Carbon source is considered to be a very important component
of the cultivation medium, since it is generally used as a source
for energy and biosynthesis of kefiran. Previously, lactose was
conventionally used as a good source for the high production
of kefiran (Yokoi and Watanabe, 1992). However, our results
showed that medium 5 containing sucrose exhibited significant
effect on cell growth and kefiran production, which were in
accordance with the results of Wang and Bi (2008), who found
that sucrose was able to support kefiran production, where
1.48 g L1 were produced after 72 h. Furthermore, Harta
et al. (2004) investigated the influence of the addition of different
monosaccharides, disaccharides and their mixtures into
kefir grain production. They found that sucrose (at
19.75 g L1), after fructose, was the second best carbon source
suitable for maximal kefiran production. Accordingly, the
effect of different sucrose concentrations on cell growth and