Beetroot-Based Medium Offers a Sustainable Alternative to Conventional Bacterial Growth Media

Beetroot Powder Formulation Emerges as an Eco-Friendly Substitute for Synthetic Microbial Media

A team of researchers from the University Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Algeria, has developed a novel microbial medium based on beetroot powder that can successfully replace the widely used Man-de-Rogosa Sharp (MRS) agar for cultivating lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The study, published in the World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology (2025), presents a sustainable and cost-effective approach to bacterial cultivation that could significantly reduce the environmental footprint of microbiological and biotechnological industries.

Background

Lactic acid bacteria are essential to food fermentation, probiotics, and biotechnology. However, their cultivation traditionally relies on nutrient-rich synthetic media such as MRS, which are expensive and not environmentally sustainable. The Algerian research team, led by Belhadj Oussama, explored the potential of beetroot (Beta vulgaris), a nutrient-dense and widely available crop, as a natural substrate for LAB growth.

Beetroot’s inherent sugars, vitamins, and phytochemicals make it a promising candidate for replacing conventional culture media. The study aimed to create an optimized formulation that could match or surpass MRS in supporting bacterial growth while reducing costs and environmental impact.

Methods and Findings

The researchers prepared dried beetroot powder and tested multiple formulations with various nutrient additives, including magnesium sulfate, manganese sulfate, ammonium sulfate, and di-potassium phosphate. Three LAB strains—Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus fermentum, and Enterococcus durans—were cultivated in these beetroot-based media.

While plain beetroot juice alone supported limited bacterial proliferation, the modified medium known as BJFA-MS (Beetroot Juice Fixed Additives with Manganese Sulfate) achieved bacterial growth comparable to commercial MRS medium.

Key findings include:

Optimal pH (5.5) and high sugar content (67 g/L) conducive to LAB growth.
BJFA-MS medium demonstrated faster generation times for L. fermentum and E. durans.
Comparable cell density and colony morphology to MRS medium.
The disappearance of beetroot’s red betalain pigment during fermentation served as a visual indicator of bacterial metabolic activity.
Despite slightly lower acid productivity, BJFA-MS achieved higher growth efficiency and consistent performance across all tested strains.

Significance

The results demonstrate that beetroot-derived media can serve as a viable, eco-friendly replacement for synthetic MRS agar. This innovation offers dual benefits: reducing laboratory waste and promoting the use of agricultural by-products in microbial biotechnology.

Conclusion

The study concludes that BJFA-MS, the beetroot-based microbial medium enriched with manganese sulfate, represents a sustainable, cost-effective, and efficient alternative to conventional MRS media for the growth of probiotic and lactic acid bacteria.

This development opens pathways for environmentally conscious microbiological research, probiotic production, and fermented food innovation. Future studies may focus on scaling up beetroot-based formulations and exploring similar plant-derived substrates to diversify microbial cultivation systems worldwide.

Reference

Oussama, B., Fatima, S., Ahmed, H., Kheira, S., & Ilham, M. (2025). Formulations of novel microbial medium from beetroot powder: a sustainable substitute for commercial Man-de-Rogosa Sharp agar (MRS) in cultivating lactic acid bacteria. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 41(10), 372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-025-04561-x