Mycelia Growth and Production of Total Flavonoids and 4H-pyran-4-one, 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl- by Schizophyllum commune Using a Bubble Column Bioreactor Considering Aeration Effect and Mass Transfer Study

Higher fungi are a major source of bioactive secondary metabolites, and Schizophyllum commune secreted Schizophyllan that could possess antifungal activity. 4H-pyran-4-one, 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl- (DDMP), a compound with flavonoid fraction, is an important bioactive chemical which exhibited antifungal activity to inhibit growth or spore germination. In view of the potential of DDMP, bench scale production of total flavonoid content (TFC) and DDMP of Schizophyllum commune was carried out in laboratory fermenter at 1.5 L scale. The growth of S. commune was affected by the supply of oxygen during the fermentation. The optimum condition of aeration rate for TFC and DDMP production from S. commune was found to be 4 L min–1. The mass transfer coefficient (kLa) of S. commune was also studied to investigate the oxygen transfer capabilities in the bioreactor by considering the effect of aeration rate. On the other hand, the kLa value increased with increasing the aeration rate and the maximum kLa value (0.0814 s–1) was obtained with aeration rate of 8 L min–1.