PRODUCTION OF BIOFILM FROM SYMBIOTIC CULTURE OF BACTERIA AND YEAST – SCOBY – IN Euterpe oleracea Mart. (AÇAÍ)

Abstract

Biofilms are complexes of microbial aggregates surrounded by a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), usually adhered to the surface. This research investigated biofilm production from a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY), using Euterpe oleracea Mart. (1824) [açaí] extract as a substrate. The studies combined with the essays produced in the Microbiology and Biotechnology Laboratory - MicroBioTec, IFRO, Calama campus in Porto Velho, RO in these conditions: room temperature (16 and 35 °C). Fermentation was conducted with an industrial starter culture in a medium containing 42 g of sucrose, 4.2 mL of açaí pulp, 2.7 mL of acetic acid, and 166 mL of mineral water, incubated at a room temperature for 14 (fourteen) days with subsequent renewal of the medium until biofilm formation. The tests were triplicated and evaluated after 233 (two hundred and thirty-three) days, the results showed us the synthesis of gelatinous and translucent biofilms, with an average initial mass of 22.88 g and a final mass of 3.32 g after drying. Microscopic evaluations revealed the presence of polymeric fibers and microorganisms consistent with yeasts, fungal filaments immersed in EPS, which became consistent and opaque after drying. Sensory analyses identified substrates with the following profiles: reddish-brown coloration, vinegary aroma and initially gelatinous and translucent textures that became opaque, leafy, and earthy after drying. The data that results from the tests and the studies are relevant and can contribute to studies related to the production of biofilms from plant extracts in the Brazilian Amazon. However, we suggest additional analyses associated with physicochemical, structural, and functional profiles that could improve, evaluate, and enhance biofilm production techniques using E. oleracea extract.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/edimpacto2025.061-003