Monascus pigment production in bioreactor using a co-product of biodiesel as substrate

The study and use of natural pigments in food industries have increased in recent years due to the toxicity presented by artificial pigments. Monascus ruber is a filamentous fungus that produces red, orange, and yellow pigments under different growing conditions. The growth of health food market has...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Bühler,Rose Marie Meinicke, Dutra,Anderson Cesar, Vendruscolo,Francielo, Moritz,Denise Esteves, Ninow,Jorge Luiz
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2013
Country:Brasil
Institution:Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos (SBCTA)
Repository:Food Science and Technology (Campinas)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:scielo:S0101-20612013000500002
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-20612013000500002
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Monascus ruber
glycerin
bioreactor
Description
Summary:The study and use of natural pigments in food industries have increased in recent years due to the toxicity presented by artificial pigments. Monascus ruber is a filamentous fungus that produces red, orange, and yellow pigments under different growing conditions. The growth of health food market has increased in parallel with the growth in biofuels production, such as biodiesel, which generates a concomitant increase in the production of glycerin that can be used in bioprocesses. The objective of this study was to use glycerin and glucose as substrates in the production of natural pigments in a bioreactor. The culture of Monascus ruber was carried out in a Bioflo III reactor with 4 L of working volume and pH, temperature, aeration, and agitation control. The highest pigment production was observed after 60 hours of fungal culture with 8.28 UA510 of red pigment. The pH range remained from 5.45 to 6.23 favoring the release of red pigment in the medium. This study shows the feasibility of the production of natural pigments by Monascus ruber in a bioreactor using a co-product of biodiesel without previous treatment as a substrate.