Biotransformation of monosodium glutamate to gamma-aminobutyric acid by isolated strain Lactobacillus brevis L-32 for potentiation of pentobarbital-induced sleep in mice

In the current study, we investigated the biotransformation of monosodium glutamate (MSG) to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) by the growing and resting cells from an isolated bacterial strain, Lactobacillus brevis. This strain is a high GABA-producing strain that was identified and isolated from natural kimchi. We gathered the experiment results by design of response surface methodology (RSM) for optimum condition for GABA production and results indicated the optimum culture temperature (35°C) and culture time (58 h). Using resting cells from the same culture batch in the substrate-containing buffer, approximately 3.98 g/l of GABA was produced at a conversion rate of 65.6%. GABA-treated mice showed significantly increased sleep duration compared to that of a control group (p < 0.05) in the pentobarbital-induced sleep test using a hypnotic dose. These results suggest that biotransformed GABA could potentially be used a novel nutraceutical supplement for sleep.