Food Technology and Biotechnology (Jan 2018)

Optimization of Process Parameters for the Production of γ-Linolenic Acid by Cunninghamella elegans CFR C07 in Submerged Fermentation

  • Parvathy Sree Varma,
  • Salini Chandrasekharan,
  • Govindarajulu Venkateswaran,
  • Santhosh Rajendran,
  • Kiran Kumar Mallapureddy,
  • Ashok Pandey,
  • Binod Parameswaran

DOI
https://doi.org/10.17113/ftb.56.01.18.5464
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 56, no. 1
pp. 96 – 100

Abstract

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The production of γ-linolenic acid (GLA) by the fungus Cunninghamella elegans CFR C07 in submerged fermentation was studied. Culture parameters such as carbon source and incubation time were optimized. Four different extraction methods using solvents with acid washed sand, glass beads, lyophilization and Soxhlet extraction were evaluated for improved extraction of lipids from the fungal biomass after fermentation. The GLA production was initially optimized in 250-mL flask and the process was demonstrated in a 3-litre fermentor. The maximum GLA production was 882 mg/L in shake flask culture and 733 mg/L in the fermentor. The study shows that Cunninghamella elegans CFR C07 is a potent organism for the production of GLA under submerged conditions.

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