Production of Acetylacetoin by Bacterial Fermentation

Bacillus sp. YUF-4 did not produce acetylacetoin with general culture media, such as bouillon medium containing glucose or acetoin. When diacetyl was added to a medium cultured for 18–20 h in the presence of glucose or acetoin, AAC was produced as culture continued. AAC was assayed by GLC with a Carbowax 20M capillary column. The AAC produced was purified by several steps: the final HPLC using a Shodex E411 column was effective. The yield of AAC was 346 mg per liter of the medium (7.5% recovery) and the purity was 97%. AAC was identified by ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR.