Showa Denko K.k.

Showa Denko Kabushiki Kaisha

Toshi Tsuzuki

Masahiro Suzuki

Eiji Ogata

Shinobu Ito

Tadashi Yoneda

Kazuo Furuya

Yoshiaki Miyota

Yoshitaka Noguchi

Yoshio Fujiwara

Mina Saito

Toyoji Sawayanagi

A process for producing Surfactin, comprising culturing a microorganism of the genusin a liquid culture medium containing flour of beans such as soybean or an extract thereof as a nitrogen source and accumulating Surfactin in the culture broth, and a microorganism of the genuswhich have an activity to produce a crude Surfactin in a concentration of from 8 to 50 g/L on culturing for 20 to 90 hours.

Production process of surfactin

L-Ascorbic acid 2-phosphate zinc salt and a salt hydrate thereof having excellent solubility and exhibiting good stability even under weakly acidic conditions. Also disclosed is a process of manufacturing L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate zinc salt by displacing a cation of a salt of an L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate other than a zinc salt with a zinc cation. Further disclosed is a composition containing L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate zinc salt or a salt hydrate thereof as an active ingredient.

L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate zinc salt and process for manufacturing the same

A novel ascorbic acid derivative having both sufficiently improved stability and liposolubility, and facilitated cellular uptake. Also disclosed is a process for producing the derivative and a composition capable of effectively providing the action of vitamin C, for use in medical preparations, agricultural chemicals, animal drugs, foods, feeds or cosmetic preparations. The ascorbic acid derivative is a compound represented by the following formula (1) or a salt thereof: ##STR1## wherein R represents an acyl group having eleven or more carbon atoms and n is 0, 1 or 2.

Ascorbic acid derivative and vitamin C preparation containing the same

An alkaline protease, method for producing the same and detergents containing the protease as an aid are disclosed. The alkaline protease is obtained by cultivating in a medium the microorganism SD523 FERM BP-3774 or artificial mutants or genetically engineered variants thereof which have the ability of producing the alkaline protease. The alkaline protease has: (1) an optimum pH of from about 11 to 11.5 as measured after reaction at 30.degree. C. for 10 minutes using casein as a substrate and an optimum temperature of about 60.degree. C. as measured after reaction at pH 10 using casein as a substrate; (2) a half inactivation temperature of about 55.degree. C. as measured after reaction at pH 10 for 10 minutes; and (3) a molecular weight of 29,000.+-.2,000 as measured by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme has improved storage ability in liquid detergents as compared with known alkaline proteases produced by known microorganisms belonging to the genus Bacillus firmus.

Alkaline protease having stability in solution with anionic surfactant,

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Chiba, Japan

Toshi Tsuzuki