PHYSIOLOGY AND KINETICS OF BIFIDOBACTERIUM-BIFIDUM DURING GROWTH ON DIFFERENT SUGARS

A strain of Bifidobacterium bifidum was grown on different sugars unde r pH-controlled conditions to estimate some kinetic parameters for gro wth and product formation. Glucose was the preferred sugar in terms of growth rate and yield, sugar utilisation rate and acetate formation r ate, while lactose gave considerably lower values for these parameters . When present in a mixture with glucose, the rate of lactose utilisat ion was lower than when present on its own.