Agro-waste: a potential fermentation substrate for Penicillium chrysogenum

Abstract

Common agro-wastes found in Lagos, Nigeria (cassava shavings, corncob, sawdust, and sugarcane pulp) were compared with glucose and lactose as fermentation substrates for Penicillium chrysogenum PCL501. Cassava shavings significantly (P<0.001) produced the highest amount of mycelia weight (0.43 ± 0.02 mg/ml) than all the other substrates. This was followed by corncob with peak mycelia weight of 0.33 ± 0.02 mg/ml. Peak mycelia weight of 0.27 ± 0.01 mg/ml was equally obtained with glucose and sugarcane pulp whereas lactose gave a slightly lower peak of 0.25 ± 0.01 mg/ml. Sawdust gave the least mycelia weight of 0.13 ± 0.01 mg/ml. Total sugar content of all the culture media steadily decreased as fungal growth progressed indicating that the organism utilized carbohydrates for growth and mycelia formation. Cultures containing cassava shavings and sawdust gave high protein peaks of 0.84 ± 0.05 and 0.65 ± 0.03 mg/ml respectively. Cultures containing corncob, glucose, lactose and sugarcane pulp yielded lower protein peaks of 0.37 ± 0.02, 0.30 ± 0.02, 0.24 ± 0.02 and 0.18 ± 0.01 mg/ml respectively. The results suggest that cassava shavings, corncob and sugarcane pulp could serve as cheap fermentation substrates for the growth of the fungus. Of all the substrates investigated, cassava shavings have the best potential to serve as substrate for fermentation by Penicillium chrysogenum PCL501.

Physiological effect of Natural Penicillin Extract on Cassava Peel Media by Penicillium chrysogenum PCL501 on E.coli Infected Wistar Rats

“…The present result indicates that cassava peels are a good substrate for natural penicillin production by P. chrysogenum PCL501. Several studies have shown that the organism thrives on waste plant materials and utilizes the structural carbohydrates for its growth [12,13,29] . The organism is known to produce a variety of hydrolytic enzymes, particularly cellulases [13] and xylanases [30,31] which hydrolyse plant cell wall polysaccharides thereby enabling it to utilize the polymers for its carbon and energy needs.…”

“…Cheaper and more effective penicillin antibiotics could be obtained by fermenting the UVinduced mutant strains of P. chrysogenum on the agro-wastes [6] . Residual plant materials in the urban refuse can also serve as cheap carbon and energy sources for fermentation instead of refined sugars such as glucose and lactose [7,8] . This could turn the recalcitrant waste plant biomass into a valuable resource and reduce the pollution problem caused by its accumulation in the environment [9,10] .…”