EFFECTS OF VEGETABLE TANNINS ON GLUCOSE OXIDATION BY VARIOUS MICROORGANISMS

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Abstract
The effects of purified tannin preparations of chestnut wood and of wattle bark on the respiration of resting cells of microorganisms were measured in a Warburg apparatus. Tannins were tested at 0.5% (w/v) concentration alone and in mixtures with glucose which provided energy for the microorganisms. In presence of the chestnut and wattle tannins, the exogenous respiration of Asotobacter vinelandii was reduced by 50 and 85% and that of Escherichia coli by 40 and 20%, respectively; respiration of Azatobacler chroococcum was completely inhibited by either tannin. Glucose oxidation by Rhizobium melioti, Rhisobium sp., and Saccharomyces cerevisiae was inhibited by tannins to small degrees. Tannins had no effect on glucose utilization by Rhodotorula sp. and Pseudomonas fluorescens. A. vinelandii, E. coli, and P. fluorescens utilized tannins, especially wattle, as an energy source.