Lactic acid and its derivatives are widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. It is also a major raw material for the production of poly-lactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable and environmentally friendly polymer and a possible alternative to synthetic plastics derived from petroleum. For PLA production by new strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), we screened LAB isolates from shellfish. A total of 51 LAB were isolated from 7 types of shellfishes. Lactic acid production of individual isolates was examined using high-performance liquid chromatography using a Chiralpak MA column and an ultraviolet detector. Lactobacillus plantarum T-3 was selected as the most stress-resistant strain, with minimal inhibition concentrations of 1.2 M NaCl, 15% ethanol, and 0.0020% hydrogen peroxide. In a 1 L fermentation experiment, D-lactic acid production of 19.91 g/L fermentation broth was achieved after 9 h cultivation, whereas the maximum production of total lactic acid was 41.37 g/L at 24 h.

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