Studies on the Possibility of Producing Fats from Food Wastes by Using Micro-organisms: I: Factors Affecting Fat Production from Different Fungi

Chemical constituents of the fermentation broth of the marine-derived fungus Penicillium roqueforti

BACKGROUND

The filamentous fungus Penicillium roqueforti is a well-known multifunctional cell factory of high added-value biomolecules.

AIMS

The objective of this work was to carry out a detailed analysis of the metabolites present in the culture broth of a new marine-derived Penicillium roqueforti strain isolated in the Canary Islands, Spain.

METHODS

The fungal biomass production was carried out in liquid-state fermentation, and after 10-12 days of incubation at 22-25°C, the supernatant mycelia was separated by filtration, and the culture broth (12l) was stored in a refrigerator at 4°C for a subsequent liquid-liquid extraction with dichloromethane (3×), in accordance with the modified Kupchan method. The volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds were separated by chromatography and analyzed using GC-MS and NMR spectroscopy analyses.

RESULTS

Several volatile organic compounds involved in the fatty acid pathway were identified: a terpenoid, a cyclic dipeptide, phthalates, and an alkyl adipate. In addition, three categories of non-volatile compounds (alkanes, fatty acids and 1-alkanols) were identified by spectroscopy. The results show that the fermented broth of this fungal strain has no mycotoxins under the culture conditions applied.

CONCLUSIONS

It is hoped that this chemo-specific information will offer critical input for improving the biotechnological applications of this filamentous fungus.