PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BACTERIAL CELLULOSE FROM TRADITIONAL HOMEMADE VINEGAR: OVERVIEW OF BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Cellulose is a polymer that can be produced not only by plants but also by some bacteria. The gelatinous layer known as "mother of vinegar" is an example of bacterial cellulose (BC), which is formed on the surface during the process of traditional homemade vinegar fermentation. In this study, bacterial cellulose isolated from homemade vinegar produced by the traditional method was produced, and the resulting polymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR analysis demonstrated that the chemical bonding of the obtained bacterial cellulose is characteristic of cellulose. The presence of typical peaks, including a broad -OH stretching band (~3340 cm-1) and an aliphatic C-H stretching band (~2890 cm-1), was observed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that the bacterial cellulose exhibited a nanofibrous network structure with elevated porosity. The characterization results show that bacterial cellulose exhibits high water retention capacity and mechanical strength due to its pure, fibrous nanostructure. It is clear that bacterial cellulose has many advantages. Specifically, its potential applications include the fields of biomedical research, namely in the domains of wound dressings, tissue scaffolds and controlled drug release. Additionally, its relevance extends to food science, which can be employed as a low-calorie food ingredient, a texturing agent or a coating material. In conclusion, it has been demonstrated that bacterial cellulose derived from traditional fermentation products, such as homemade vinegar, can be utilized as a high-value-added biomaterial. With these superior properties, bacterial cellulose has potential applications in biomedical fields (particularly wound dressings, tissue scaffolds and controlled drug delivery) and food applications (low-calorie food ingredient, texture and coating material).