Indigofera tinctoria leaf powder as a promising additive to improve indigo fermentation prepared with sukumo (composted Polygonum tinctorium leaves).

Being insoluble in the oxidize form, indigo dye must be solubilized by reduction for it to penetrate textile. One of the procedures is the reduction by natural bacterial fermentation. Sukumo, composted leaves of Polygonum tinctorium, is a natural source of indigo in Japan. Although sukumo has an intrinsic bacterial seed, the onset of indigo reduction with this material may vary greatly. Certain additives improve indigo fermentation. Here, we studied the effects of Indigofera tinctoria leaf powder (LP) on the initiation of indigo reduction, bacterial community, redox potential (ORP), and dyeing intensity in the initial stages and in aged fermentation fluids prepared with sukumo. I. tinctoria LP markedly decreased ORP at day 1 and stabilised it during early fermentation. These effects could be explained by the phytochemicals present in I. tinctoria LP that act as oxygen scavengers and electron mediators. Using next generation sequencing results, we observed differences in the bacterial community in sukumo fermentation treated with I. tinctoria LP, which was not influenced by the bacterial community in I. tinctoria LP per se. The concomitant decrease in Bacillaceae and increase in Proteinivoraceae at the onset of fermentation, increase in the ratio of facultative to obligate anaerobes (F/O ratio), or the total abundance of facultative anaerobes (F) or obligate anaerobes (O) (designated F + O) are vital for the initiation and maintenance of indigo reduction. Hence, I. tinctoria LP improved early indigo reduction by decreasing the ORP and hasten the appropriate transitions in the bacterial community in sukumo fermentation.

Characterization of the microbiota in long- and short-term natural indigo fermentation.

The duration for which the indigo-reducing state maintenance in indigo natural fermentation in batch dependent. The microbiota was analyzed in two batches of sukumo fermentation fluids that lasted for different durations (Batch 1: less than 2 months; Batch 2: nearly 1 year) to understand the mechanisms underlying the sustainability and deterioration of this natural fermentation process. The transformation of the microbiota suggested that the deterioration of the fermentation fluid is associated with the relative abundance of Alcaligenaceae. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) showed that the microbial community maintained a very stable state in only the long-term Batch 2. Therefore, entry of the microbiota into a stable state under alkaline anaerobic condition is an important factor for maintenance of indigo fermentation for long duration. This is the first report on the total transformation of the microbiota for investigation of long-term maintenance mechanisms and to address the problem of deterioration in indigo fermentation.

Analysis of the microbiota involved in the early changes associated with indigo reduction in the natural fermentation of indigo.

Constituents of the seed microbiota and initial changes in the microbiota in fermentations are important in fermentation progression. To identify the origin of indigo-reducing bacteria and understand the initial changes in the microbiota that occur concomitantly with the initiation of indigo reduction during indigo fermentation, we analysed the initial changes in the microbiota. The proportions of the reported indigo-reducing taxa Alkalibacterium, Amphibacillus and Polygonibacillus increased to 24.0% on the 5th day, to 15.2% on the 7th day and to 42.8% at 4.5 months, and the relative abundances of these taxa were 0.048%, 0.14% and 0.02%, respectively, in sukumo (composted Japanese indigo plant material used for fermentation). In the early phase of the microbiota transition, two substantial changes were observed. The first change may be attributed to the substantial environmental changes caused by the introduction of heated wood ash extract (pH ≥ 10.5, temperature ≥ 60 °C). This change increased the proportions of Alkalibacterium and the family Bacillaceae. The second change in microbiota might be initiated by the consumption of oxygen by aerobic microorganisms until the 5th day followed by an increase in the abundance of the obligate anaerobe Anaerobranca and the aerotolerant Amphibacillus and a decrease in the abundance of Bacillaceae. This experiment demonstrated that the 0.048% Alkalibacterium in the original material was augmented to 23.6% of the microbiological community within 5 days. This means that using the appropriate material and performing appropriate pretreatment and adjustment of fermentation conditions are important to increase the abundance of the taxa that reduce indigo.