BACKGROUND: The culture medium for optimal growth of vaginal Lactobacillus salivarius CRL 1328 is different from that for optimal bacteriocin production. To simultaneously obtain high amount of biomass and bacteriocin of this microorganism, the effects of different basal culture media and salts on both responses were evaluated. The study was performed by using a complete factorial experimental design 2 6, with central points. Sixty-four different growth media, which resulted from the combinations of two basal culture media and two concentrations of five salts (ammonium citrate, sodium acetate, MgSO4, MnSO4, and K2HPO4) were assayed. RESULTS: Only the addition of MnSO4 to each culture medium significantly stimulated the growth of L. salivarius. The presence of sodium acetate or MgSO4 stimulated the bacteriocin production, while MnSO4 and K2HPO4 exerted an inhibitory effect. However, the simultaneous addition of MnSO4 and sodium acetate to both basal culture media allowed high bacteriocin levels to be reached, attenuating the inhibitory effect of Mn2+. CONCLUSIONS: The application of a complete experimental design contributed to simultaneous optimization of the biomass and bacteriocin production of L. salivarius CRL 1328. The results obtained are potentially applicable to the technological production of probiotic bacteria and antagonistic substance to be included in a probiotic pharmaceutical product. (C) 2009 Society of Chemical Industry