To produce a large amount of trehalose useful as a humectant for cosmetics at a low cost by culturing a protozoan belonging to the genus Euglena, placing the cultured microbial cell under salt stress, osmotic pressure stress, etc., and then extracting the trehalose from the microbial cell.
A protozoan belonging to the genus Euglena (e.g. Euglena gracilis Z strain) is cultured in a Koren-Hutner culture medium at 26°C under irradiation of light, at 2000 luxes for 4days by shaking culture and the resultant protozoans of the genus Euglena are then recovered and suspended in a 15mM phosphoric acid buffer solution (pH6.8). Sodium chloride as a salt, stress loading agent is added and sorbitol and sucrose as osmotic pressure loading agent are respectively added so as to provide 50mM sorbitol and 50mM sucrose. Thereby, the protozoans are placed under the salt stress and/or the osmotic pressure stress to extract, the produced trehalose from the microbial cell in an 80% aqueous solution of ethanol. The prepared extract, solution is then evaporated to dryness. Thereby, a large amount, of the objective trehalose useful as a humectant, etc., of cosmetics is obtained at a low cost.
MIYATAKE KAZUTAKA
TAKENAKA SHIGEO
KONDO TOMOHIRO
KAWAURA SEIJI
MATSUDA NORIO
IWASE COSFA KK