Keywords: autolysis, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, yeast extracts.

Three brewers' and three bakers' yeast extracts (YE) were obtained from five commercial suppliers. They were added to microbiological media and their growth-promoting properties were examined using four lactic cultures (Lactobacillus casei EQ28 and EQ85, Lactobacillus acidophilus EQ57, Pediococcus acidilactici MA18/5-M). Bakers' YE have a higher total nitrogen content than brewers' YE, but there was not always a correlation between the nitrogen content and growth. A systematic preference for bakers' YE over brewers' YE was only encountered with Lb. casei EQ85, but the other lactic cultures had variable reactions to the source of YE. With Lb. casei EQ85 and Pc. acidilactici 17/5M, mixing of the two sources of YE gave progressively higher growth as a function of the content of the better YE. With Lb. acidophilus EQ57 and Lb. casei EQ28, however, there were instances where a mixture of 75% brewers' YE with 25% bakers' YE gave biomass levels higher than those obtained with the pure products. A series of autolyses were conducted with mixtures of brewers' and bakers' yeast, to see if the YE obtained differed from those obtained from autolysis of the individual yeast cultures. Brewers' yeast autolysates had higher turbidity than those of bakers' yeast. The maximum yield was obtained with the co-autolysis of a combination of 60% bakers' yeasts and 40% brewers' yeasts. Growth of Lb. acidophilus EQ57 was best in the autolysate obtained from 100% brewers' yeast, in spite of the higher nitrogen content of YE produced when bakers' yeast was used during co-autolysis.