Abstract
The use of whey as an alternative culture medium for fermentation by lactic bacteria enables generating new products exopolysaccharide (EPS) and avoids environmental and economic damage. This work aimed to characterize the exopolysaccharide obtained from whey fermentation (EPS-LN60) by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DF60Mi to identify its physical and chemical properties. The EPS was characterized in terms of total sugar, protein, yield, FTIR, thermogravimetry, calorimetry, monosaccharide composition, optical microscopy and SEM. High EPS yield (777 mg/L) and sugar content (43.78%) were obtained, as well as, as expected, low protein content (1.82%). The monosaccharides found in EPS-LN60 were galactose (51.1%), mannose (22.9%), glucose (20.8%) and rhamnose (5.2%). The EPS-LN60 spectrogram showed the same bonds and functional groups to the identity of polysaccharides and the thermogram showed high thermal stability (310 °C). The EPS showed a porous surface and leaf shape, indicating its potential application for rheological changes in foods. Therefore, the results confirmed the presence of a heteropolysaccharide with high thermal stability from whey fermentation whose use can be envisioned as a potential ingredient to be explored by the food industry.