Abstract
Arachidonic acid (ARA), an important polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), acts as a precursor for eicosanoid hormones, such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes and other biological substances in human and animal bodies. Mortierella alpina is considered to be a potential strain for ARA production. Using agricultural waste as a substrate for microbial fermentation could achieve biorefinery concepts, and sea water utilization of the cultivation process could help to conserve fresh water resources. The objectives of this study were to find a potential M. alpina strain for ARA production, to investigate the tolerance of salinity and to evaluate the feasibility of the taro waste hydrolysate for M. alpina cultivation. The result showed that M. alpina FU30797 had the highest lipid content (25.97%) and ARA ratio (34.60%) among three strains. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between 0 and 10 g/L of sea salt solution on the biomass concentration and lipid content of M. alpina FU30797. The acidic hydrolysate and enzymatic hydrolysate of taro peel waste (TPW) were both utilized as culture substrates by M. alpina FU30797; however, the substrate up-take rate and lipid content in the TPW enzymatic hydrolysate cultivation were 292.33 mg/L-h and 30.68%, respectively, which are higher than those in acidic hydrolysate cultivation, and the ARA ratio was 33.05% in the enzymatic hydrolysate cultivation. From fed-batch cultivation in the bioreactor, the lipid content and ARA ratio reached 36.97% and 46.04%, respectively. In summary, the results from this project could potentially provide useful information for developing the PUFA-ARA bioprocess by using M. alpina.
Highlights
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important to membrane phospholipids as structural components, and to eicosanoids as precursors
M. alpina FU30797 10% (v/v) mycelial suspension was inoculated in 45 mL fermentation media containing the following (g/L): glucose 40.0, yeast extract 8.0, KH2 PO4 0.2, MgSO4 0.5, with 0, 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90 g/L artificial sea salt solution, and incubated at 25 ◦ C and 200 rpm for 120 h for further biomass concentration, lipid content and Arachidonic acid (ARA) ratio analyses
The biomass concentration, lipid content, and ARA ratio of total fatty acids may vary among strains, even under the same culture conditions
Summary
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important to membrane phospholipids as structural components, and to eicosanoids as precursors. Arachidonic acid (ARA; 5,8,11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid, C20:4), one of the three essential fatty acids, is an important fatty acid of the omega-6 series PUFA. ARA could be applied for the treatment of heart disease and cancer, and it is the precursor of some physiologically hormones, such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes in mammals. ARA is commonly used in the food/nutraceutical and medicine industries [2,3]. Conventional sources for ARA production are animal organs (pig adrenal glands), egg yolk and deep-sea fish; for the scale-up to industrial production, conventional sources are limited, due to undesirable characteristics, such as unacceptable flavor, low ARA content and seasonal restrictions [4,5]. With the increase in demand for ARA, alternative and sustainable sources for ARA production must be found
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