Pythium irregulare fermentation to produce arachidonic acid (ARA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) using soybean processing co-products as substrates.

ABSTRACT

Arachidonic acid (ARA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) were produced by Pythium irregulare fungus using soybean cotyledon fiber and soy skim, two co-products from soybean aqueous processing, as substrates in different fermentation systems. Parameters such as moisture content, substrate glucose addition, incubation time, and vegetable oil supplementation were found to be important in solid-state fermentation (SSF) of soybean fiber, which is to be used as animal feed with enriched long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Soybean fiber with 8 % (dwb) glucose supplementation for a 7-day SSF produced 1.3 mg of ARA and 1.6 mg of EPA in 1 g of dried substrate. When soy skim was used as substrate for submerged fermentation, total ARA yield of 125.7 mg/L and EPA yield of 92.4 mg/L were achieved with the supplementation of 7 % (w/v) soybean oil. This study demonstrates that the values of soybean fiber and soy skim co-products could be enhanced through the long-chain PUFA production by fermentation.