Influence of the NSAID flurbiprofen on metabolic pathways governing lactic acid formation in Lactobacillus pentosus SH-114

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are increasingly recognized for their unintended biochemical interactions with microbial systems. In this study, the influence of the NSAID flurbiprofen on the metabolic pathways governing lactic acid formation by Lactobacillus pentosus SH114 was investigated. Batch fermentations were conducted with graded concentrations of flurbiprofen to assess changes in growth kinetics, glycolytic flux, redox balance, and end-product distribution. Flurbiprofen exposure resulted in dose-dependent modulation of lactic acid synthesis, reflected by alterations in glucose uptake rate, NAD+ /NADH turnover, and the activities of key enzymes including lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and phosphofructokinase (PFK). Moderate concentrations enhanced lactic acid productivity by stimulating glycolytic pathway flux, whereas higher concentrations imposed metabolic stress, leading to reduced biomass formation and a diversion of carbon flow toward minor metabolites. Metabolomic profiling further revealed shifts in intracellular organic acids, suggesting that flurbiprofen perturbs membrane-associated processes and cellular energy homeostasis. These findings highlight flurbiprofen as a potent modulator of microbial fermentation physiology and provide insights into the cross-kingdom metabolic interactions between pharmaceuticals and industrially relevant laffacid bacteria. It has been found that the compound flurbiprofen antagonises the lactic acid fermentation process however, it stimulates lactic acid fermentation process and enhances the yield of lactic acid by Lactobacillus pentosus SH-114 to an extent of 10.309% higher in comparison to control when 15 % of molasses solution (w/v) is allowed to ferment at pH 6.1, temperature 340C and incubation period of 6 days.