Vitamin and amino acid requirements of Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from green olive fermentations.

The requirement for essential amino acids and vitamins was determined in wild-type Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from green olive fermentation brines. All the strains were found to be auxotrophic with respect to the amino acids but some of them were prototrophic for pyridoxal, p-aminobenzoic acid and/or nicotinic acid. Their growth response to these nutrients was also studied and found to be quite heterogeneous. Nutritional requirement pattern as a criteria for selecting starter cultures is discussed.