Kvasny Prum. 1980; 26(6): 126-130 | DOI: 10.18832/kp1980021

Neutralizing inhibiting effects of crotonaldehyde upon the growth of Candida utilis yeast.Peer-reviewed article

M. ŠESTÁKOVÁ, F. ŠTROS

Screening tests which have been carried out with Candida utilis cultivated in agar show, that of 20 compared low-boiling compounds the highest toxical effects have crotonaldehyde, acrolein and allyl alcohol. Toxicity of crotonaldehyde was neutralized with ammonia. By applying gas chromatography methods to a series of samples consisting of ethanol +  crotonaldehyde +  ammonia it has been established that transformation of crotonaldehyde (which is present as a current impurity in various fractions of synthetic alcohol) into a trimer with ammonia takes place, if pH of the mixture exceeds 8. At normal room temperature the process takes only a few minutes. So e. g.12,5 gof ammonia will remove in 10 minutes 850 mg of crotonaldehyde from1 lof water + alcohol mixture. Cultivation experiments carried out with Candida utilis grown in a mineral medium and synthetic alcohol have shown that nitrogenous medium in the form of ammonia mixed with alcohol, before being added to fermentation medium, fully neutralizes inhibiting effects of crotonaldehyde upon Candida utilis. The described method, i. e. treatment of alcohol with ammonia permits to use raw synthetic spirit with high concentration of crotonaldehyde for cultivating yeast in moderate aerobic conditions.
(In Czech, English summary only)

Keywords: crotonaldehyde, growth, Candida utilis, inhibiting effects

Published: June 1, 1980