Low-cost solid-state fermentation to improve mycophenolic acid synthesis.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Microbial secondary metabolite production

Background:

• Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is an immunosuppressive and antibiotic drug.
• MPA is a secondary metabolite produced by Penicillium brevicompactum.
• Current production methods include submerged (SmF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF).

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize solid-state fermentation (SSF) conditions for enhanced MPA production by P. brevicompactum.
• To scale up the optimized SSF process for increased MPA yield.

Main Methods:

• Screening of various substrates (rice, barley, oats, cornflakes, rice bran, wheat bran) for MPA production.
• Optimization of SSF conditions for P. brevicompactum (MTCC 1999).
• Scale-up of the SSF process using indigenous fermentation bags with wheat bran as the substrate.

Main Results:

• Wheat bran was identified as the optimal substrate for MPA production in bench-scale SSF.
• MPA yield increased from 0.02 mg/g in bench-scale SSF to 9.5 mg/g in large-scale SSF.
• A significant increase of 9.48 mg/g in MPA production was achieved within 15 days of incubation in the large-scale process.

Conclusions:

• The optimized large-scale SSF process significantly enhances MPA production.
• This improved SSF method offers a more efficient route for industrial MPA production.
• Solid-state fermentation using wheat bran is a viable strategy for high-yield MPA biosynthesis.