Biosynthesis of bacitracin in solid-state fermentation by Bacillus licheniformis using defatted oil seed cakes as substrate.

Bacitracin is being imported in Pakistan involving substantial amount of foreign exchange for its incorporation in poultry feed. The cheap raw material for its production is readily available and cheap such as soybean meal, sunflower meal, wheat bran etc. Thus development of this technology in our country would result in saving a reasonable amount of foreign exchange by exploiting indigenous resources. The present study is concerned with the biosynthesis of antibiotic bacitracin in solid-state fermentation by Bacillus licheniformis on laboratory scale using defatted oil seed cakes of agricultural by-products as starting material for maximum production of the antibiotic Bacitracin. In solid-state fermentation, wheat bran, soybean meal, sunflower meal, rice hulls and their different combinations were used. The antibiotic activity, 48 hours after inoculation was 4375 i.u / gm when only soybean was used. However, maximum titre 4820 i.u / gm of antibiotic was obtained using wheat bran and soybean meal in ratio of 1:3.