Production of acetic acid and other volatile compounds by Leucoostoc citrovorum and Leuconostoc dextranicum.

Single-strain milk cultures of Leuconostoc dextranicum are capable of reducing added acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and butanone to the corresponding alcohols at 30 C. L. dextranicum and L. citrovorum reduced propionaldehyde to n-propanol quantitatively in 30 hr, and the reduction of this compound paralleled culture growth. Under unagitated conditions, these organisms produced large amounts of acetic acid and ethyl alcohol. The yield of acetic acid increased when cultures were agitated during growth. This increase in acetic acid production was accompanied by a 20- to 70-fold decrease in ethyl alcohol. The addition of acetaldehyde to the fermentation caused a reduction in the final concentration of acetic acid.