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Production of red pigment by submerged culture of Paecilomyces sinclairii
Author(s) -
Cho Y.J.,
Park J.P.,
Hwang H.J.,
Kim S.W.,
Choi J.W.,
Yun J.W.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1046/j.1472-765x.2002.01168.x
Subject(s) - pigment , paecilomyces , industrial fermentation , starch , food science , biology , botany , citric acid , chemistry , fermentation , organic chemistry
Aims: From a survey of submerged culture of edible mushrooms, a high pigment‐producing fungus Paecilomyces sinclairii was selected and its optimal culture conditions investigated.
Methods and Results: The optimal culture conditions for pigment production were as follows: inoculum age, 3 d; temperature, 25 °C; initial pH, 6·0; carbon source, 1·5% (w/v) soluble starch; nitrogen source, 1·5% (w/v) meat peptone. Although addition of 10 mmol l −1 CaCl 2 to the culture medium slightly increased pigment production, most of the bio‐elements examined had no notable or detrimental effect on pigment production.
Conclusions: Under the optimal conditions obtained in the flask culture tested, a ninefold increase in pigment production (4·4 g l −1 ) was achieved using a 5‐l batch fermenter. Paecilomyces sinclairii secreted water‐soluble red pigment into the culture medium. The pigment colour was strongly dependent on the pH of the solution: red at pH 3–4, violet at pH 5–9 and pink at pH 10–12.
Significance and Impact of the Study: The high concentration of pigment (4·4 g l −1 ) produced by P. sinclairii demonstrates the possibility of commercial production of pigment by this strain, considering its relatively high production yield and light stability.