Use of whey permeate for cultivating Ganoderma lucidum mycelia

Optimization of chemical conditions for metabolites production by Ganoderma lucidum using response surface methodology and investigation of antimicrobial as well as anticancer activities

Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) is a medicinal mushroom that is known for its ability to produce compounds with physiological effects on human health. This research was undertaken to amplify the production of bioactive components of G. lucidum under optimal cultivation conditions, obtained in a submerged state and utilized in solid state fermentation, with the purpose of enhancing antimicrobial and anticancer activities. The results indicated that titanium dioxide (TiO2 NPs), magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO2 NPs), and B6, along with glucose syrup and CLS syrups, were the most effective for producing GA, while wheat starch and whey protein, along with MgO2 NPs and B6 vitamin, stimulated polysaccharide production using the One Factor at a Time (OFAT) method. After screening, the response surface method (RSM) statistically indicated that the media containing 42.11 g/L wheat starch with 22 g/L whey protein and 50 g/L glucose syrup with 30 g/L CSL were found to be the best conditions for polysaccharide (21.47% of dry weight biomass) and GA (20.35 mg/g dry weight biomass) production, respectively. The moss of the fruit body of G. lucidum produced under optimal GA conditions had the highest diversity in flavonoids and phenolic acids and significant antimicrobial activity against Esherichia coli (E. coli) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis). In addition, the IC50 levels of shell and stem of G. lucidum were 465.3 and 485.7 μg/mL, respectively, while the moss did not reach 50% inhibition. In the end, the statistical approaches utilized in this research to elevate the levels of bioactive components in the fruiting body of G. lucidum produced a promising natural source of antimicrobial and anticancer agents.

Ganoderma lucidum Mycelia Mass and Bioactive Compounds Production through Grape Pomace and Cheese Whey Valorization

Numerous compounds obtained from the medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum have evidenced renowned bioactive characteristics. Controlled fermentation to generate fungal mycelia confers several advantages, specifically when the valorization of agro-industrial streams as fermentation feedstocks is included. Submerged fermentation of a newly isolated Greek strain of G. lucidum was performed using conventional synthetic media and, also, grape pomace extract (GPE) and cheese whey permeate (CWP) under static and shaking conditions. Under shaking conditions, maximum biomass with GPE and supplementation with organic nitrogen reached 17.8 g/L. The addition of an elicitor in CWP resulted in a significant improvement in biomass production that exceeded synthetic media. Overall, agitation demonstrated a positive impact on biomass productivity and, therefore, on process optimization. Crude intracellular and extracellular polysaccharides were extracted and evaluated regarding antioxidant activity and polysaccharide and protein content. FTIR analysis confirmed the preliminary chemical characterization of the crude extracts. This study introduces the design of a bioprocessing scenario to utilize food industry by-products as onset feedstocks for fungal bioconversions to obtain potential bioactive molecules within the concept of bioeconomy.

Advances in Production of Medicinal Mushrooms Biomass in Solid State and Submerged Bioreactors

Production of mushroom fruit bodies using farming technology could hardly meet the increasing demand of the world market. During the last several decades, there have been various basic and applied studies on fungal physiology, metabolism, process engineering, and (pre)clinical studies. The fundamental aspects of solid-state cultivation of various kinds of medicinal mushroom mycelia in various types of bioreactors were established. Solid-state cultivation of medicinal mushrooms for their biomass and bioactive metabolites production appear very suitable for veterinary use. Development of comprehensive submerged technologies using stirred tank and airlift bioreactors is the most promising technology for fast and large-scale production of medicinal fungi biomass and their pharmaceutically active products for human need. The potentials initiate the development of new drugs and some of the most attractive over-the-counter human and veterinary remedies. This article is to overview the engineering achievements in solid state and submerged cultivations of medicinal mushrooms in bioreactors.

Cheese Whey Processing: Integrated Biorefinery Concepts and Emerging Food Applications

Cheese whey constitutes one of the most polluting by-products of the food industry, due to its high organic load. Thus, in order to mitigate the environmental concerns, a large number of valorization approaches have been reported; mainly targeting the recovery of whey proteins and whey lactose from cheese whey for further exploitation as renewable resources. Most studies are predominantly focused on the separate implementation, either of whey protein or lactose, to configure processes that will formulate value-added products. Likewise, approaches for cheese whey valorization, so far, do not exploit the full potential of cheese whey, particularly with respect to food applications. Nonetheless, within the concept of integrated biorefinery design and the transition to circular economy, it is imperative to develop consolidated bioprocesses that will foster a holistic exploitation of cheese whey. Therefore, the aim of this article is to elaborate on the recent advances regarding the conversion of whey to high value-added products, focusing on food applications. Moreover, novel integrated biorefining concepts are proposed, to inaugurate the complete exploitation of cheese whey to formulate novel products with diversified end applications. Within the context of circular economy, it is envisaged that high value-added products will be reintroduced in the food supply chain, thereby enhancing sustainability and creating "zero waste" processes.

Cultivation of Medicinal Mushroom Biomass by Solid-State Bioprocessing in Bioreactors

Basidiomycetes of various species and their wide range of pharmaceutically interesting products in the last decades represent one of the most attractive groups of natural products in Asia and North America. Production of fungal fruit bodies using farming technology is hardly covering the market. Comprehensive solid-state technologies and bioreactors are the most promising part for fast and large amount of cultivation of medicinal fungi biomass and its pharmaceutically active products. Wood, agriculture, and food industry wastes represent the main substrates that are in this process delignified and enriched in proteins and highly valuable pharmaceutically active compounds. Research in physiology, basic and applied studies in fungal metabolism, process engineering aspects, and clinical studies in the last two decades represent large contribution to the development of these potentials that initiate the development of new drugs and some of the most attractive over-the-counter human and veterinary remedies. Present article is an overview of the achievements in solid-state technology of the most relevant medicinal mushroom species production in bioreactors. Graphical Abstract.

A Simple Method for the Purification of Nisin

Nisin, an antimicrobial peptide showing activity against a broad range of Gram-positive bacteria, is widely used as a food preservative and has potential as a therapeutic for a range of infectious diseases. Here, we present a simple purification method, based on a salting-out approach, which can produce a powder containing ∼33% nisin, from a nisin-producing culture in a whey permeate-based medium. This process removes over 99% of the lactic acid, NaCl, lactose and non-nisin proteins from the cell-free culture supernatant. The approach can also enrich a commonly used commercial nisin preparation over 30-fold to a purity of ∼58%. These are higher purities than comparable published methods. The simplicity of this approach facilitates its use in research and also its scale-up.

Use of Swine Wastewater as Alternative Substrate for Mycelial Bioconversion of White Rot Fungi

Seven white rot fungal species were tested for growth as mycelia using swine wastewater (SW), an agro-waste with tremendous environmental footprint, as the sole nutrient source. The SW contained high concentrations of carbon and nitrogen components, which could support nutritional requirements for mycelial growth. Out of the seven species, Pleurotus ostreatus and Hericium erinaceus were successfully cultivated on the SW medium using solid-state fermentation. Response surface methodology was employed to determine the combination of pH, temperature (T), and substrate concentration (C) that maximizes mycelial growth rate (Kr) for the two species. The optimum condition was estimated as pH = 5.8, T = 28.8 °C, and C = 11.2 g chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L for P. ostreatus to yield Kr of 11.0 mm/day, whereas the greatest Kr (3.1 mm/day) was anticipated at pH = 4.6, T = 25.5 °C, and C = 11.9 g COD/L for H. erinaceus. These Kr values were comparable to growth rates obtained using other substrates in the literature. These results demonstrate that SW can be used as an effective substrate for mycelial cultivation of the two white rot fungal species, suggesting an alternative method to manage SW with the production of potentially valuable biomass.

Resource recovery using whey permeate to cultivate Phellinus linteus mycelium: Solid-state and submerged liquid fermentation

The growth characteristics of Phellinus linteus mycelium were assessed and compared under solid-state fermentation (SSF) and submerged liquid fermentation (SLF) systems on whey permeate medium. Response surface methodology was used to investigate the growth rates of mycelia under various conditions of operating temperature (TO), initial pH, and substrate concentration ([S]). The optimal growth conditions of P. linteus mycelium were determined to be 26.1°C, pH 4.6, and 60.3g of lactose/L in the SSF system, and 29.0°C, pH 5.0, and 65.3g of lactose/L in the SLF system. The maximum growth rates were predicted to be 1.92 ± 0.01 mm/d in SSF and 192.1 ± 0.0mg/L per day in SLF. Random trials were conducted to experimentally validate the evaluated optimal conditions. The differences between the modeled and observed values were only 5.3% in the SSF system and 6.1% in the SLF system. Significant engineering factors differed between the fermentation techniques; TO was significant in both cultivation systems, whereas initial pH was significant in SSF but [S] was significant in SLF. Our findings can be used to guide the operation of the bioconversion process for cultivating P. linteus mycelium using whey permeate wastewater.

Maximization of volatile fatty acids production from alginate in acidogenesis

In this study, the response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to determine the optimum fermentative condition of alginate with the respect to the simultaneous effects of alginate concentration and initial pH to maximize the production of total volatile fatty acids (TVFAs) and alcohols. The results showed that the alginate fermentation was significantly affected by initial pH than by alginate concentration and there was no interaction between the two variables. The optimum condition was 6.2g alginate/L and initial pH 7.6 with a maximum TVFAs yield of 37.1%. Acetic acids were the main constituents of the TVFAs mixtures (i.e., 71.9-95.5%), while alcohols (i.e., ethanol, butanol, and propanol) were not detected.

Optimization of microwave pretreatment conditions to maximize methane production and methane yield in mesophilic anaerobic sludge digestion

The objective of this study was to find optimum microwave pretreatment conditions for methane production and methane yield in anaerobic sludge digestion. The sludge was pretreated using a laboratory-scale industrial microwave unit (2450 MHz frequency). Microwave temperature increase rate (TIR) (2.9-17.1 degrees C/min) and final temperature (FT) (52-108 degrees C) significantly affected solubilization, methane production, and methane yield. Solubilization degree (soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD)/total COD) in the pretreated sludge (3.3-14.7%) was clearly higher than that in the raw sludge (2.6%). Within the design boundaries, the optimum conditions for maximum methane production (2.02 L/L) were TIR = 9.1 degrees C/min and FT = 90 degrees C, and the optimum conditions for maximum methane yield (809 mL/g VS(removed)) were TIR 7.1 degrees C/min and FT = 92 degrees C.

Optimization of growth conditions of Lentinus edodes mycelium on corn processing waste using response surface analysis

This research was conducted to evaluate the use of corn processing waste as an alternative growth medium for the cultivation of Lentinus edodes mycelium and to determine the optimum growth conditions under solid-state cultivation. The substrate concentration, pH, and temperature for maximizing the growth rate of L. edodes mycelium, 9.3+/-0.6 mm/d, were 44.3 g/l, 4.7, and 24.7 degrees C, respectively. Therefore, the results suggest that corn processing waste can be utilized as a growth substrate for cultivating L. edodes mycelium.