Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PII:S0960-8524(98)00015-7
Short Communication
containing corncobs were sterlized at 121C for
15 min, cooled, inoculated (about 2 x 106 conidia/
flask), and incubated at 30C for 72h in the
presence of 3% (v/w) methanol. After fermentation,
corncobs were extracted with distilled water in a
Waring blender (Fisher Scientific Co., Pittsburgh,
PA). After filtration, the filtrates were analyzed for
citric acid and total sugar.
Effect of methanol concentration on fungal
production of citric acid from corncobs was carried
out in the same manner as the standard method
except that different methanol concentrations (0, 1,
2, 3, 4% v/w) were used.
Effect of temperature (23, 30, 37C) on fungal
production of citric acid from corncobs was
conducted in the same manner as the standard
method.
Effect of fermentation time (0, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120,
144 h) on fungal production of citric acid from
corncobs was conducted in the same manner as the
standard method.
Total sugar was measured as glucose by the
phenol-sulfuric acid method of Dubois et al. (1956).
Citric acid was determined by HPLC under the
following conditions: column, Bio-Rad HPX-87H
(3007.8mm); temperature, 65C; mobile phase,
0-004 M H2SO4; flOW rate, 0"6 ml/min; and detector,
Rainin refractive index detector, Model RI-1. Citric
acid standard was obtained from Sigma Chemical
Co., St Louis, MO.
The statistical computer package program used to
analyze the experimental data was Statistica General
Manova (StatSoft, Inc., Tulsa, OK). The values that
have no common superscript are significantly
different (p<0-05) according Duncan's multiple
range test.
INTRODUCTION
Corncobs are an important by-product of the sweet
corn processing industry that have been either used
as animal feed or are returned to the harvested field
(Inglett, 1970). In recent years, interest in the microbial conversion of food processing wastes into highvalue products has increased (Hang and Woodams,
1986, 1993; Hang et al., 1987; Shih and Hang, 1996;
Tran and Mitchell, 1995). Citric acid is a commercially important product that has been produced by
submerged fermentation of glucose or sucrose
(Kapoor et al., 1982). The objective of the present
study was to evaluate the feasibility of using
corncobs as a substrate for citric acid production by
A. niger under solid state fermentation conditions.
METHODS
Short communication
252
Table 1. Effect of methanol on citric acid production by four strains of Aspergillus niger after 72 h of growth at 30C
Methanol cone.
(%, v/w)
0
1
2
3
4
NRRL 2001
NRRL 2270
NRRL 328
NRRL 599
53 + 8.29k
168 + 3.69f
227 2.060
254__+4.92a
227 + 9.79cd
30 _ 1.50m
43 + 2.581
67 _ 3.56j
203 ___+2.89e
242 + 4.24b
58 + 4.24k
119 __+1.63h
6.5 +_0.52"
4.7 __+0.40n
28 q-5.86m
82___+4.16i
4.0 + 1.49"
168 q- 6.50 g
234 ___+7.04c
259 + 2.70a
The experimental values (n =4) that have no common superscript are significantly different (p<0.05) according to
Duncan's multiple range test.
Temperature
(C)
23
30
37
Time
(h)
0
24
48
72
96
120
144
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was supported in part by Hatch funds
(NYG233499). We extend thanks to Mr L. C. Wu
for assistance in statistical analyses of the experimental data.
Short communication
REFERENCES
Dubois, M., Giles, K. A., Hamilton, J. K., Roberts, D. A.
& Smith, F. (1956). Colorimetric determination of
sugars and related substances. Analytical Chemistry, 28,
350-356.
Foster, J. W (1949). ChemicalActivity of Fungi. Academic
Press, New York.
Hang, Y. D. & Woodams, E. E. (1984). Apple pomace: a
potential substrate for citric acid production by Aspergillus niger. Biotechnology Letters, 6, 763-764.
Hang, Y. D. & Woodams, E. E. (1986). Utilization of
grape pomace for citric acid production by solid state
fermentation. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 37, 141-142.
Hang, Y. D. & Woodams, E. E. (1993). Production of
diacetyl reductase by Geotrichum candidum from sauerkraut brine. Bioresource Technology, 43, 181-183.
Hang, Y. D., Luh, B. S. & Woodams, E. E. (1987). Microbial production of citric acid from kiwi peel. Journal of
Food Science, 52, 226-227.
Inglett, G. E. (1970). Corn: Culture, Processing and
253