Heterotrophic Cultivation of Euglena gracilis in Stirred Tank Bioreactor: A Promising Bioprocess for Sustainable Paramylon Production

Abstract

Paramylon is a valuable intracellular product of the microalgae Euglena gracilis, and it can accumulate in Euglena cells according to the cultivation conditions. For the sustainable production of paramylon and appropriate cell growth, different bioreactor processes and industrial byproducts can be considered as substrates. In this study, a complex medium with corn steep solid (CSS) was used, and various bioreactor processes (batch, fed batch, semicontinuous and continuous) were performed in order to maximize paramylon production in the microalgae Euglena gracilis. Compared to the batch, fed batch and repeated batch bioprocesses, during the continuous bioprocess in a stirred tank bioreactor (STR) with a complex medium containing 20 g/L of glucose and 25 g/L of CSS, E. gracilis accumulated a competitive paramylon content (67.0%), and the highest paramylon productivity of 0.189 g/Lh was observed. This demonstrated that the application of a continuous bioprocess, with corn steep solid as an industrial byproduct, can be a successful strategy for efficient and economical paramylon production.

Evaluation of the Effects of Euglena gracilis on Enhancing Immune Responses in RAW264.7 Cells and a Cyclophosphamide-Induced Mouse Model

“…Euglena accumulates paramylon for energy and carbon storage [ 11 ]. Under heterotrophic growth conditions, Euglena contains water-insoluble paramylon at levels that exceed 50% of its dry weight [ 12 ]. Similar to other β-1,3-glucans, paramylon exerts various bioactive effects on health, such as antitumor, anti-HIV, and inhibitory effects on fat accumulation [ 11 , 13 , 14 ].…”