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Current Status of EM (Effective Microorganisms) Utilization

유용미생물 (EM, Effective Microorganisms)의 활용 현황

  • Moon, Yun-Hee (Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University) ;
  • Lee, Kwang-Bae (Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University) ;
  • Kim, Young-Jun (ERC for Advanced Bioseparation Technology, Inha University) ;
  • Koo, Yoon-Mo (Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University)
  • 문윤희 (인하대학교 생물공학과) ;
  • 이광배 (인하대학교 생물공학과) ;
  • 김영준 (인하대학교 초정밀생물분리기술연구센터) ;
  • 구윤모 (인하대학교 생물공학과)
  • Received : 2011.05.10
  • Accepted : 2011.08.23
  • Published : 2011.10.31
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Abstract

Effective Microorganisms (EM), a fermented medium developed by Professor Higa at the University of the Ryukyus, is a mixed culture containing dozens of microorganisms which are beneficial to nature including people, animals, plants and many microbial species in environment. EM is known to contain more than 80 kinds of anaerobic or aerobic microbes including photosynthetic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeast, actinomycetes, fungi and so on, with yeast, lactic acid bacteria and photosynthetic bacteria as the main species of EM. Antioxidant effect generated by the concert of complex coexistence and coprosperity among these microbes is considered to be the main source of EM benefits. Currently, EM is earning an increasing attention with applications in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, environment and medicine among others. At the same time, however, a quantitative interpretation of EM system based on a mixed culture model needs efforts from biochemical engineers for efficient production and further promotion of EM. In this paper, we describe the functions of major microbes in EM and current researches and applications of EM in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, environment and medicine.

Keywords

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