DEVELOPMENT OF BACTERIAL CULTURE MEDIUM FROM AVOCADO SEED WASTE

Avocado (Persea americana Mill) seeds, a rich source of starch and rpicronntrients, are a major waste product from the agroindustrial processing of avocado's. We designed and developed an experimental culture medium (ECM) from hydrolysed avocado seeds, supplemented with M9 salts (10% v/v). Breaking of starch granules of avocado seeds due to hydrolysis treatments was analysed by morphology and morphometry of granules. We evaluated the ECM functionality by measuring the growth of K con as affected by (i) the carbon source (reducing sugars concentration), (ii) the nitrogen source, and (iii) mixing and aeration in a stirred tank biorcactor. ECM con wining 1333 and 20 g/L of reducing sugars reached a biomass production of 1.75 and 2.22 gDCW/L, respectively, Interestingly, the biomass yield from ECM was at least 2.5-fold higher than that obtained using Luria-Bertani Broth (LB) medium (0.23 vs 0.09). In addition, the growth rate increased with the agitation velocity (0,44h(-1) at 200 rpm; 0.36 h(-1) at 150 rpm). Our findings suggest that avocado seeds represent a cost-effective material for producing a sustainable culture medium for bacterial growth of E. coli and other strains of interest in biotechnological processes.