Abstract
BackgroundLovastatin is one of the first statins to be extensively used for its cholesterol-lowering ability. It is commercially produced by fermentation. Species belonging to the genus Aspergillus are well-studied fungi that have been widely used for lovastatin production. In the present study, we produced lovastatin from sago processing wastewater (SWW) under submerged fermentation using oleaginous fungal strains, A. terreus KPR12 and A. caespitosus ASEF14.ResultsThe intra- and extracellular concentrations of lovastatin produced by A. terreus KPR12 and A. caespitosus ASEF14 were lactonized. Because A. caespitosus ASEF14 produced a negligible amount of lovastatin, further kinetics of lovastatin production in SWW was studied using the KPR12 strain for 9 days. Lovastatin concentrations in the intra- and extracellular fractions of the A. terreus KPR12 cultured in a synthetic medium (SM) were 117.93 and 883.28 mg L–1, respectively. However, these concentrations in SWW were 142.23 and 429.98 mg L–1, respectively. The yeast growth inhibition bioassay confirmed the antifungal property of fungal extracts. A. terreus KPR12 showed a higher inhibition zone of 14 mm than the ASEF14 strain. The two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA; p < 0.01) showed significant differences in the localization pattern, fungal strains, growth medium, and their respective interactions. The lovastatin yield coefficient values were 0.153 g g–1 on biomass (YLOV/X) and 0.043 g g–1 on the substrate, starch (YLOV/S). The pollutant level of treated SWW exhibited a reduction in total solids (TS, 59%), total dissolved solids (TDS, 68%), biological oxygen demand (BOD, 79.5%), chemical oxygen demand (COD, 57.1%), phosphate (88%), cyanide (65.4%), and void of nutrients such as nitrate (100%), and ammonia (100%).ConclusionThe starch-rich wastewater serves as a suitable medium for A. terreus KPR12 for the production of lovastatin. It simultaneously decontaminates the sago processing wastewater, enabling its reuse for irrigation/recreation.Graphical
Highlights
Lovastatin is one of the first statins to be extensively used for its cholesterol-lowering ability
Statins are widely used as cholesterol-lowering drugs that hinder the activity of the critical catalyst, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, which is involved in the endogenous biosynthesis of LDL cholesterol [2, 3]
The adopted techniques ensured the accurate quantification of lovastatin in fermentation broth samples
Summary
Lovastatin is one of the first statins to be extensively used for its cholesterol-lowering ability. Species belonging to the genus Aspergillus are well-studied fungi that have been widely used for lovastatin production. We produced lovastatin from sago processing wastewater (SWW) under submerged fermentation using oleaginous fungal strains, A. terreus KPR12 and A. caespitosus ASEF14. Lovastatin is a fungal secondary metabolite produced through the polyketide pathway. Several fungal genera such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Monascus, Paecilomyces, Trichoderma, Scopulariopsis, Doratomyces, Phoma, Pythium, Gymnoascus, Hypomyces, and Pleurotus are known as lovastatin producers [8,9,10,11,12]. Monascus ruber and Aspergillus terreus are the foremost and targeted industrial producers of lovastatin [4, 13]
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