Abstract
A total of 278 different isolates of filamentous fungi were screened using synthetic medium for respective ability to produce kojic acid. Nineteen, six, and five isolates proved to be low, moderate, and high kojic acid producers, respectively. Levels of kojic acid produced were generally increased when shaking cultivation was used rather than those obtained using static cultivation. A trial for the utilization of 15 agro-industrial wastes or by-products for kojic acid production by the five selected higher kojic acid producer isolates was made. The best by-product medium recorded was molasses for kojic acid. A. flavus numbers 7 and 24 were able to grow and produce kojic acid on only 12 out of 15 wastes or by-products media. The best medium used for kojic acid production by A. flavus number 7 was rice fragments followed by molasses, while the best medium used for kojic acid production by A. flavus number 24 was the molasses followed by orange, pea, and rice fragments. An attempt for production of kojic acid using a 1.5 L laboratory fermentor has been made. Aspergillus flavus number 7 was used and grown on molasses medium; maximum level (53.5 g/L) of kojic acid was obtained after eight days of incubation.
Highlights
Kojic acid is a metabolic product of several species of the economically valuable genus Aspergillus
Kojic acid has been added to food as an antioxidant [3], as a preservative to prevent formation of warmed-over flavor in beef [4], as a processing aid to inhibit the formation of nitrosopyrrolidine in fried bacon [5], and to produce reddening in unripe strawberries [6]
Utilization of industrial waste or by-products for the fungal production of useful products has been recommended by many investigations such as glycerol production by filamentous fungi using cheese whey [13,14,15], lipid, and sterol and ergosterol production by fungi using sugar cane molasses or cheese whey [16,17,18] and sidechain degradation and some biological transformation of progesterone by fungi using sugar cane molasses [19] and cyclosporin A production by fungi grown on agro-industrial wastes of some fruits, vegetables, and pickles as well as Biotechnology Research International molasses and corn steeps [20,21,22]
Summary
Kojic acid is a metabolic product of several species of the economically valuable genus Aspergillus This mold is used in the production of a number of foods, including miso (soybean paste), shoyu (soy sauce), and sake, which are produced throughout the world. Kojic acid has been added to food as an antioxidant [3], as a preservative to prevent formation of warmed-over flavor in beef [4], as a processing aid to inhibit the formation of nitrosopyrrolidine in fried bacon [5], and to produce reddening in unripe strawberries [6]. The objective of this study was to study the following: the potentialities of kojic acid and production by 278 different fungal isolates; comparison between static and shaking cultivation methods for the production; optimization of both nutritional and environmental factors affecting the acid production; and utilization of 15 kinds of agro-industrial wastes or by-products by the high kojic acid producers for acid formation as well as production of this product on semi-industrial scale using a laboratory fermentor
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