Chitin and chitosan biopolymer production from the Iranian medicinal fungusGanoderma lucidum: Optimization and characterization

Abstract

Chitin and chitosan with unique properties and numerous applications can be produced from fungus. The production of chitin and chitosan from the mycelia of an Iranian Ganoderma lucidum was studied to improve cell growth and chitin productivity. Inoculum size and initial pH as two effective variables on the growth of G. lucidum and chitin production were optimized using response surface method (RSM) by central composite design (CCD). The results verified the significant effect of these two variables on the cell growth and chitin production. In optimum conditions, including pH = 5.7 and inoculum size of 7.4%, the cell dry weight was 5.91 g/L and the amount of chitin production was 1.08 g/L with the productivity of 0.083 g/(L day). The produced chitin and chitosan were characterized using XRD and FTIR. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of the produced chitosan was investigated and compared with the commercial chitosan. The results showed that the produced chitin and chitosan had suitable quality and the Iranian G. lucidum would be a great source for safe and high-quality chitin and chitosan production.

Development of an extrudable paste to build mycelium-bound composites

“…Indeed, fungi with low-fluidity membranes and high glucanchitin ratios in their cell walls are resistant to chitosan, 53 and G. Lucidum is one of them. [54][55][56] After 20 days in air at temperature of ~25 °C and 65-70% humidity, the mycelium grew again on the extruded struts (Figure 6A). This was visualised optically with a white appearance, contrasting with the orange-brown colour of the initial bamboo-chitosan substrates.…”

3D Arrays of Super-Hydrophobic Microtubes from Polypore Mushrooms as Naturally-Derived Systems for Oil Absorption

“…We obtained oil sorption capacities that were lower than those reported for synthetic sponges and membranes [46,47,48], but comparable to those of natural, non-pyrolyzed fibrous materials. The chemical components of the fungi (glucans and chitin) are mainly water-insoluble and resistant to organic solvents and acid solutions [49,50,51], making these porous systems stable in harsh environments. This work opens the way to a novel use of Ganoderma fungi as filtration/purification elements that can also be integrated into fluidic devices and used to separate emulsified oil from water.…”

Polysaccharides from Basidiocarps of the Polypore Fungus Ganoderma resinaceum: Isolation and Structure

“…The fractions F2 and F3 thus contained less nitrogen and sulfur compared to F1, which indicates that most proteins are readily soluble in cold water and removed in this way. In the case of F4, the nitrogen is also derived from chitin, which is also a component of Ganoderma cell walls [77].…”