Propolis: as an Additive in Bacterial Cellulose Production

This study investigates the effect of propolis supplementation on bacterial cellulose (BC) production efficiency with Komagataeibacter species. Compared to production in Hestrin-Schramm medium, the addition of propolis increased BC production with K. intermedius, K. maltaceti, and K. nataicola by 1.31-fold, 2.09-fold, and 1.43-fold, and optimal propolis concentration were determined to be 25%, 20%, and 30%, yielding 7.15 g/L BC, 5.4 g/L BC, and 4.15 g/L BC, respectively. K. intermedius - K. maltaceti consortia, increased production by 1.57-fold compared to K. intermedius and 2.07-fold compared to K. maltaceti monocultures. Increasing the volume of the cultivation vessel also increased BC production by 1.08-1.59-fold. Agitation induced production efficiency by 1.01-1.18-fold; however, obtained BC exhibited irregular shapes. BC obtained from K. maltaceti exhibited the highest Water Holding Capacity (WHC) and Moisture Content Retention (MCR) as 97.63% and 33.22 g/g. Characteristic BC bands and nanofibrillar structure of BC were observed with Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) and Fouirer Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectrometer.