Bioconversion of rice bran to omega-3 fatty acids by Pythium irregulare fermentation

摘要

The fungus Pythium irregulare has the ability to synthesize omega-3 fatty acids which have health benefits. Rice bran is regarded as a low value by product but contains important nutritional components. In this research, media composed of 5 percent rice bran with water were used for the Pythium irregulare submerged culture to produce EPA, an important omega-3 fatty acid. The total oil content, EPA, COD and reducing sugar of the broth were determined during the fermentation in the rice bran media with/without amylase pretreatment. The fatty acids in the final product were analyzed. The results showed that the fungus utilized rice bran media and produced EPA. There were no significant differences between the media with and without amylase pretreatment. After 8 days of fermentation, oil content increased 5.3 percent and EPA reached 23.4 mg/L in the media while the COD removal rate reached more than 76 percent.