Chitosan production from hemicellulose hydrolysate of corn straw: impact of degradation products on Rhizopus oryzae growth and chitosan fermentation.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the potential use of hemicellulose hydrolysate (HH) for the production of chitosan by Rhizopus oryzae and investigate the influence of contents in HH on mycelia growth and chitosan synthesis.


RESULTS
Compared to xylose medium, HH enhanced mycelia growth, chitosan content and production of R. oryzae by 10.2, 64.5 and 82.1%, respectively. During sulfuric acid hydrolysis of corn straw, sugars (glucose, galactose, etc) and inhibitors (formic acid, acetic acid and furfural) were generated. Acetic acid (2.14 g l(-1)) and formic acid (0.83 g l(-1)) were stimulative, while furfural (0.55 g l(-1)) was inhibitory. Inhibitors, at different concentrations, increased the mycelia growth and chitosan production by 24.5-37.8 and 60.1-207.1%.


CONCLUSIONS
HH of corn straw is a good source for chitosan production. Inhibitors in HH, at proper concentrations, can enhance chitosan production greatly.


CONCLUSIONS
This work for the first time reported chitosan production from HH. Chitosan production can be greatly enhanced by cheap chemicals such as inhibitors in HH.
Tai
C
C
State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing, China.
Li
S
S
Xu
Q
Q
Ying
H
H
Huang
H
H
Ouyang
P
P
D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D048271:Chitosan / Q000378:metabolism*; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D005285:Fermentation; D005561:Formates / Q000494:pharmacology; D005662:Furaldehyde / Q000494:pharmacology; D006131:Growth Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D025282:Mycelium / Q000254:growth & development; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D012233:Rhizopus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013464:Sulfuric Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D014994:Xylose / Q000378:metabolism; D003313:Zea mays / Q000378:metabolism*
D003470:Culture Media; D005561:Formates; D006131:Growth Inhibitors; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D011134:Polysaccharides; D013464:Sulfuric Acids; C030544:formic acid; C007916:hemicellulose; D048271:Chitosan; D014994:Xylose; D005662:Furaldehyde; C033158:sulfuric acid; D019342:Acetic Acid