Solid-State Fermentation of Riceberry Rice with Mushroom Mycelium for Enhanced Beta-Glucan Production and Health...

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Food Science
• Mycology

Background:

• Beta-glucans (β-glucans) are polysaccharides with recognized prebiotic and anti-cancer properties, particularly for colorectal health.
• Optimizing the production and understanding the bioactivity of β-glucans from novel sources is crucial for functional food development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize the production of β-glucan from germinated Riceberry rice using solid-state fermentation with *Pleurotus ostreatus*.
• To evaluate the prebiotic and anti-cancer bioactivities of the fungal-fermented β-glucan extract.

Main Methods:

• Solid-state fermentation of germinated Riceberry rice with *Pleurotus ostreatus*.
• Extraction and purification of β-glucan, confirmed by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).
• Assessment of prebiotic potential by measuring the growth of *Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus* and *Bacillus coagulans*, and in vitro evaluation of anti-cancer activity against SW480 colon cancer cells and normal CCD-841 CoN cells.

Main Results:

• A high-purity (79.98%) crude β-glucan extract was obtained with a 54.95% recovery rate.
• The extract demonstrated significant prebiotic potential, promoting *L. rhamnosus* and *B. coagulans* growth with high Prebiotic Index (PI) values, outperforming standard inulin.
• The β-glucan extract effectively inhibited SW480 colon cancer cell viability and induced cell death, with no significant cytotoxicity observed in normal colon cells.

Conclusions:

• Solid-state fermentation of germinated Riceberry rice with *Pleurotus ostreatus* is an effective method for producing high-purity, bioactive β-glucans.
• The fungal-fermented β-glucan extract exhibits promising prebiotic and anti-cancer properties, making it a valuable ingredient for functional foods.
• Further research into the specific mechanisms and in vivo efficacy of this β-glucan extract is warranted.