Isolation, Purification, and Identification of a Novel HX-Producing Strain and Optimization of Its Fermentation Medium

Hexanoic acid (HX) is a crucial flavor compound and precursor of ethyl caproate (EA), which determines the quality of Chinese Luzhou-flavor liquor (CLFL). The isolation, purification, identification, and optimization of fermentation conditions of HX-producing bacteria are essential for industrial CLFL production. In this study, one strain of HX-producing bacterium was isolated from six candidate bacterial strains and identified as Clostridium sartagoneforme. Then, the growth characteristics and HX production of C. sartagoneforme were investigated. Sodium acetate medium was identified as the optimal fermentation medium from four candidate media. C. sartagoneforme yielded 800.85 ± 12.87 mg/100mL HX in sodium acetate medium. Then, to further optimize the formula of the fermentation medium, the carbon and nitrogen sources and inorganic salt component of the fermentation medium were investigated using HX yields as an optimization index. Optimization was performed with a single-factor experiment and the Taguchi design method. The single-factor experiment showed that the highest HX outputs were obtained when the sodium acetate medium contained 2.5 g/L yeast extract, 1.8 g/L KCl, 20 g/L sodium acetate, 15 mL/L ethanol, and 1.5 g/L glucose. In the orthogonal experiment designed using the Taguchi design method, HX yields reached 2018.29 ± 46.37 mg/100mL in sodium acetate medium that contained 3.5 g/L yeast extract, 1.8 g/L KCl, 25 g/L sodium acetate, and 15 mL/L ethanol.