Yeast from Ethanol Production - Source of SCP (Single Cell Protein)

Maria G.S.Andrietta, Claúdia Steckelberg, Patrícia R. Kitaka, Rosana Goldebeck, Sílvio R. Andrietta

Dry yeast, one of sugarcane ethanol manufacturing byproducts, is largely marketed as a source of protein for preparation of animal feed. We have analyzed the behavior of four different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from ethanol production industrial process (CAT, PE, SMBP1 and NARBP2) in a cultivation medium formulated from sugarcane molasses in laboratory conditions. The assessed parameters were: Cell yield (Yx/s) and protein concentration in the mass. The protein analysis was carried out with the use of the TruSpecN (LECO) equipment. The results suggest that the amount of cell yield and the percentage of protein in the mass are different for each strain tested. It was also possible to clearly elucidate that there is a correlation between the two parameters studied. The larger the amount of cell mass produced, the smaller the amount of protein.