Isolation and Partial Characterization of Glycolipopeptide Biosurfactant Derived from A Novel Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Lbp_WAM

Biosurfactants are amphipathic molecules generated by a variety of microorganisms with different biological functions. In this study, lactic acid bacteria were screened for their emulsification properties. However, the Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain LBpWAM was molecularly identified using 16S rRNA, and its ability to produce surface-active peptides was investigated. The biosurfactant derived from L. plantarum LBp_WAM was shown to have the potential to reduce water surface tension from 72 mN.m-1 to 32 mN/m within a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 2.4 mg.ml-1. The emulsification index (E24) values were evaluated for sunflower oil (60 ± 3.0%), glycerol (53.9 ± 0.11 %), olive oil (49.0 ± 2.0 %), mineral oil (50.7 ± 0.60 %), hexane (36.03±0.05 %), and kerosene (31 ±0.05 %). The biosurfactant was purified using gel filtration chromatography (GFC), and the molecular weight was determined using the SDS-PAGE method, indicating an approximate molecular weight of 19 kDa. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used to determine the molecular structure of the obtained molecule, which was found to be composed of protein, lipid, and polysaccharides. The biosurfactant's antibacterial activity was also examined, as it showed inhibitory effects against different species of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.