Concentration of lactobacilli

Claim 1

THE PROCESS FOR OBTAINING, IN MEDIA FROM WHICH THEY CAN BE READILY RECOVERED AND CONCENTRATED, LARGE POPULATIONS OF MICRO-ORGANISMS BELONGING TO SPECIES OF THE FAMILY LACTOBACTERIACEAE WHICH PRODUCE ACID COAGULATION UPON GROWTH IN MILK AND WHICH ARE NOT STRICTLY ANAEROBIC IN THAT THEY INCLUDE STRAINS WHICH ARE MICROAEROPHILIC AND STRAINS WHICH ARE METABOLICALLY INDIFFERENT WITH WITH RESPECT TO OXYGEN AND ARE OFTEN CALLED FACULATIVE ANAEROBES, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF INOCULATNG MEDIA, COMPOSED PRINCIPALLY OF MILK, WITH CULTURES OF AT LEAST ONE OF THE AFORESAID SPECIES; GROWING THE INOCULA IN SAID MEDIA TO PRODUCE WELL-ESTABLISHED CULTURES OF THE BACTERIA THEREIN AND TO PRODUCE SUFFICIENT ACIDITY AS A RESULT OF SUCH GROWTH TO REDUCE THE PH TO THE RANGE OF ABOUT 6.5 TO ABOUT 4.5; SEPARATELY PREPARING IN AN AQUEOUS MEDIUM A PROTEOLYTIC ENZYME OF THE TYPE WHICH IS ABLE TO DIGEST CASEIN IN AN ACID ENVIRONMENT, TREATING SAID ENZYME TO RENDER IT SUBSTANTIALLY FREE FROM VEGETATIVE BACTERIAL CELLS; ADDING THE ENZYME TO PREPARED TO SAID WELL-ESTABLISHED CULTURES IN AN EFFECTIVE AMOUNT WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO FORM ABOUT 0.05% UP TO ABOUT 1% OF COMMERCIAL GRADE OF WHITE CEYLON PAPAIN, WHICH HAS BEEN HEATED WHILE IN AN AQUEOUS MEDIUM TO A TEMPERATURE IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 63*-70*C. FOR ABOUT 1/2 HOUR; AND CONTINUING THE GROWTH OF THE BACTERIA IN THE TREATED MEDIS, WHILE DIGESTING THE CASEIN CONTENT THEREOF WITH THE ENZYME TO MINIMIZE THE QUANTITY OF CURD PRESENT; THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTAMINATING BACTERIA IN THE MIXTURES BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PREVENTED BY THE ACCUMULATED METABOLIC PRODUCTS OF THE MULTIPLYING BACTERIAL BEING GROWN AS AFORESAID.