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Evaluation of Brewers ' Spent Grain as Low-cost Substrate for the Cultivation of Pleurotus
by
Biswas Palikhey
A Research Paper
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the
Master of Science Degree
III
C Vf~
Naveen Chikthimmah, hD, ~rch Adviser
'I<itlillacaIlS, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Stout
May, 2011
2
Author: Palikhey, B.
Title: Evaluation of Brewers' Spent Grain as Low-cost Substrate for the Cultivation
of Pleurotus eryngii (King Oyster Mushroom)
Graduate Degree/ Major: MS Food and Nutritional Sciences
Number of Pages: 67
Abstract
Brewers' spent grain (BSG) is the major waste of brewery operation accounting for around
85% of total solid wastes generated. Although BSG is composed of rich lignocellulosic
arabinoxylans (28%), and lignin (28%), it has drawn little attention for the recycling, apart
from its use as animal feed. The efficacy of BSG (65% moisture content) as basal substrate
for the cultivation of Pleurotus eryngii was evaluated at 0%,25% and 50% wheat bran (WB)
supplementation. There was significant increase in the apical extension rate, Ilr of P. eryngii
mycelia in the agar media plates prepared from BSG substrate at 0%, 25%, and 50% WB
supplementation (p < 0.05). Contrastingly, Ilr decreased significantly with the dilution level
of substrate (gram of substrate/milliliter water) at 1:20, 1: 10, and 1:5 respectively. Bottle
colonization of all three substrate treatments including 100% BSG at 221 DC for 30 days.
3
Fruiting body formation was initiated at 18C and 95% relative humidity for 35 days. There
efficiency of P. eryngii mushroom from 25% and 50% WB supplemented BSG were 9.37%
and 66.97% respectively. Results from this research showed that BSG upon WB
Acknowledgement
Firstly and importantly I would like to offer my deep and sincere gratitude to Dr. Naveen
providing me direction and encouragement that helped me in every aspect of the thesis work
from planning, material collections, experimental work, writing, and presenting. His pro-
activeness and logical way of thinking were great help that boosted the study. I would like to
thank Dr. Alma Rodriguez for bringing her expertise and key guidance that were important to
this study. Her positive attitude and willingness to give was highly appreciated. I also owe my
deep gratitude to Dr. Carolyn Barnhart for her constant encouragement and important support
throughout the work. My hemifelt thanks to Dr. Kitrina Carlson who added zest for the
completion of this thesis. I am also thankful to the departments of Food and Nutrition and
Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Stout for providing laboratory facilities and resources
needed for my work. I would also like to offer my high regards to Connie Galep, Josiah Ray,
and Frank Dogbatsey who helped me in the laboratory logistics during conduction of the
experiments. One very special person I have to appreciate is Sharmila Thapa for being very
understanding to facilitate my focus towards the thesis work. Her support in the form of love
and encouragement were the major players in the success of this work.
5
Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 15
Materials ......................................................................................................................................... 34
References ........................................................................................................................................... 57
List of Figures
Figure 3: Mechanism of compound degradation by laccase (Lac), versatile peroxidase (VP) and
Figure 5: Pleurotus eryngii WC888 mycelia radial growth on BSG/WB substrate combination
Figure 6: Pleurotus eryngii WC943 mycelia radial growth on BSG/WB substrate combination
and varying dilution levels (1 :20, 1: 10 and 1:5) at 232C ........................................... .40
Figure 7: Mean apical extension rate of P. eryngii WC888 at different substrate combinations
Figure 8: Mean apical extension rate of P. eryngii WC943 at different substrate combination and
Figure 9: Pleurotus eryngii (WC888 and WC943) mycelial growth on BSG/WB combination
substrate ........................................................................................................ 45
Figure 10: Pleurotus eryngii WC888 cultivation on BSG and WB substrates a) Rye spawn b)
Bottles inside environmental chamber c) Mushroom growing in the bottles d) & e) Fruiting
bodies produced from 50% BSG + 50% WB f) Fruiting body produced from 75% BSG + 25%
WB ............................................................................................................. 46
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Chapter I: Introduction
lignocellulosic (LC) waste material. The predominant components of LC materials are cellulose
components such as proteins, oils and ash making up the remaining fraction (Rashad et aI.,
2009). LC materials are also one ofthe most abundant naturally available and renewable
complex organic carbons. Annual production of LC materials is over 150 billion tons
worldwide (Saber et aI., 2010). Only a very small amount of the total lignocellulosic waste
produced is utilized for useful applications, while most are disposed causing environmental
problems and incur to disposal cost to agricultural and food producers and processors.
Nature is abound with microorganisms having the ability to produce cell wall degrading
enzymes that solubilize complex carbon chains in lignocellulosic materials to smaller molecules
(Gao et aI., 2007). The use of such microorganisms in a solid state fermentation (SSF) of LC
materials (agricultural polymeric bypro ducts) such as wheat straw, rice bran, corn cops, and
spent brewers grain can produce a variety of useful products with high economic value.
Microbial solid-state fermentations are attractive techniques for the utilization of LC materials
because this fermentation does not require costly inputs such as air (aeration), water and energy
(Hong et aI., 2011). Operation costs are low due to the use of simple bioreactors requiring no
energy input. SSF also do not create any significant amounts of waste water that require
treatment prior to disposal. Utilizing lignocellulosic material via SSF has been successful in the
production of fermentable sugars (Hong et aI., 2011) and organic acids (Saber et aI., 2010).
Lignocellulosic materials serve as good SSF substrates for the growth of saprophytic
microorganisms including fungi used for commercial edible mushroom cultivation. Presently,
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the most extensively used lignocellulosic materials for the production of edible fungi are wheat
straw, rice straw, sawdust, hard wood chips, sugarcane bagasse, cotton seed hulls, corn cobs, rice
bran, and wheat bran (Kirbag & Akvuz, 2008, Saber et aI., 2010; Orts et aI., 2008). Other green
materials, such as cotton stalk and soybean straw (Panjabrao et aI., 2007), coffee pulp (Martinez-
Carrera, 1989) etc. have also been used or tried for growing edible mushrooms in some
countries.
Brewers' spent grain (BSG) is the most abundant lignocellulosic waste in brewing
operations. BSG is the solid material that is remaining after the grains have been mashed. It
accounts for about 85% of the total wastes generated in a brewery (Mussato et aI., 2007).
Currently the main application of BSG is limited to ruminant animal feed purpose only
(Bartolome et aI., 2002). It is available at low or no cost throughout the year. In the United
States (U.S.), 34 million metric tons of distillers' spent grains including BSG were generated in
2010 (USDA, 2010). While a very small amount ofBSG is used as animal feed and agricultural
amendments, the bulk of BSG generated in the United States is considered a solid waste and
In brewing process, the mashing operation results in the extraction of soluble sugars,
proteins, and minerals from the malted barley grains into a liquid fraction known as wort leaving
behind water insoluble proteins and the cell wall residues of the husk, pericarp, and seed coat in
the spent grain known as the Brewer's spent grain (BSG). BSG is rich in cellulose and non-
cellulosic polysaccharides and lignin, and small amounts of proteins, lipids, and minerals
(Mussatto et aI., 2006). Owing to its residual nutrient content of cellulose, protein and fiber,
BSG can be an attractive substrate ingredient for the cultivation of edible mushrooms (Gregori et
10
2008), organic acids (Mussato et aI., 2007), and sugars (Mussotto & Roberto, 2008).
Mushroom along with other fungi are special because they are neither plants nor animals.
The increase in consumption and appreciation of mushrooms over the years is due to their flavor,
economical and ecological values, and medicinal properties (Sanchez, 2004). In the U.S., the
cultivation of edible oyster mushroom (Pleuratus spp.) started since early 1980's (Rodriguez &
Royse, 2008). Pleuratus spp. is third in world production volume after Agaricus bispraus and
Lentinula edades. The sales volume of oyster mushroom in the U.S. market has increased from
1.2 million pounds in 1988-89 to around 5.05 million pounds in the 2008-09 season (USDA,
2009). Pleuratus spp. is well acknowledged as an economically important genus among higher
fungi due to its world-wide availability, broad adaptability to various growing conditions and
preferable nutritional propeliies (Hassan et aI., 2010). Among the genus Pleuratus, Pleuratus
The commercial production of P. eryngii in the U.S. began in 2000 and by 2004,85 tons
were produced (Rodriguez & Royse, 2008). Pleuratus eryngii, commonly known as the "king
oyster" mushroom has great nutritional and medicinal value. This mushroom fully justifies its
name with its large fruiting body, fleshy meat-like texture, longer shelf-life, superior nutritional
BSG favors the growth of mushrooms not only due to high protein content, but also due
to high moisture content and physical properties such as particle size, volume weight, specific
density, porosity, and water holding capacity (Gregori et aI., 2008). The cultivation of P. eryngii
ob BSG can be done using three basis systems - bag, bottle, or outdoor cultivation. The bag
system is mainly used in Europe and China (Rodriguez & Royse, 2008). Polypropylene or
11
polyethylene bags (0.5-3kg substrate/bag) are used as cultivation containers. The bottle system
is used by many growers in Japan, South Korea, and China and in some modern production
facilities in the U.S. and Canada. The bottle system is advantageous since it is highly
mechanized in addition to the bottles being autoclavable, re-usable, and easy to handle
(Rodriguez & Royse, 2005). Outdoor cultivation is practiced in the farms that do not have
controlled environment. In this system the initial colonization of substrate is done in bags which
are then trans felTed onto the ground and then cased with soil to prevent desiccation for
The use of expensive carbon source such as glucose, sucrose or starch is not economical
in the large production of biotechnological products. Instead, the exploitation of less expensive
sources would be beneficial. This has lead, in recent year, an increasing trend in utilizing
byproducts and wastes as raw material in the production of value added products. BSG which is
low-cost and high volume byproduct of brewery is rich in cellulose and non-cellulosic
polysaccharides. Fungi through the action of extracellular enzymes are able to degrade these
complex materials present in BSG to produce various products of impOliance. BSG thus holds a
strong potential to be recycled. At present, feed use and dumping are the major means of
elimination ofBSG from brewery. However dumping is not sustainable because of the
environmental pollution associated with the disposal method. The waste management problems
for BSG thus require developing new ways to utilize the spent grains taking into account the
adverse impact on environment and health. Apart from the current general use as an animal feed,
mushroom with superior nutritional and economic benefits. Cultivation of P. eryngii on readily
available inexpensive BSG will be prized in the context of effective bioconversion of locally
available substrate and for mushroom crop diversification. Producing nutritious food at a profit,
while using materials that would otherwise be considered "waste," also contributes to sustaining
agricultural practices. There are about 72 small and large breweries in Wisconsin producing
abundant amounts of BSG annually. The research work on understanding the potential use of
BSG on P. eryngii mycelia growth and mushroom production can contribute to supporting a
BSG is generated in bulk quantities and can easily deteriorate due to its high moisture
content, which makes the transportation, storage and preservation of BSG a major challenge for
the brewing industries. Therefore, the use of BSG can solve disposal cost and environmental
problems associated in the brewery process. At the same time it can provide cheaper alternative
substrate for the production of high value product. Since, the cultivation of P. elyngii needs a
moderate initial investment; even local farmers can get an opportunity to start small scale
The main objective of this work was to evaluate and optimize brewers' spent grain (BSG) as a
substrate combinations
Definition of Terms
Brewers' Spent Grain (BSG). Waste product of the brewery industry consisting of the
Oyster mushrooms. Specialty edible mushrooms with particular taste, medicinal, and
nutritional properties.
Spawn. Grain colonized with fungal mycelium used to inoculate substrates for the
cultivation of mushroom.
Fruiting body. Fleshy structure of the fungus (sexual stage) generally called mushroom. It
Biological efficiency. Ability of the fungus to utilize the dry substrate expressed as
percentage of yield of mushroom in dry or wet basis produced from dry wet of the
substrate.
Wet BSG coming out from brewing process has high moisture and nutrient content and is
liable to rapid microbial and chemical deterioration. In this study the wet BSG obtained from the
brewery was dried to a stable moisture content level in order to be stored for longer period of
time. But since mushroom production requires higher moisture content of around 65% in the
substrate, BSG was later added with water to reach to this optimum level. In larger scale BSG
14
utilization, the drying operation incurs huge amount of additional cost thereby the use of wet
BSG becomes more economical and practicable. But since dried BSG had to be used in the
study, it was assumed that dried BSG when added with water for moisture optimization will
behave characteristically and functionally similar to wet BSG which is recommended in large
Introduction
This chapter will cover background oflignocellulosic materials and brewers' spent grain
(BSG). It would be followed by oyster mushrooms, and Pleurotus eryngii, its characteristics,
Lignocellulosic Materials
Lignocellulosic (LC) materials are components of plant or wood cell walls in which
cellulose is intimately associated with hemicelluloses and lignin (Saber et aI., 2010). LC
materials are inexpensive, readily available in nature as forest or agricultural wastes, easily
processed to high value products with high yield and are suitable for both hydrolysis and
polymer consisting of two fJ-l, 4 linked glucose residues (cellobiose) in their repeating units
(Figure la). The fJ acetal linkage plays an important role in structural properties and strength of
cellulose fiber. Unlike starch that is processed by a number of organisms, cellulose cannot be
easily utilized by many organisms due to the presence of fJ acetal linkage in cellulose that
requires unique enzymes for digestion (Wertz et aI., 2010). The insolubility of cellulose in
normal aqueous solutions is due to its tendency to form crystals utilizing extensive intra- and
intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Part of the cellulose preparation is amorphous between the
a)
OH
~O~O
OH OH
~-O 0 HO~~q HO~"'~
HO OH
OH
HO~OHO-L--z:::rf
OH
c.)
S--O~O\
o (0"-J~O--~
o)~
OH
Ugnln"--.
o R:-H (p~coumaric Hdd)
or
R R=OCII 3 (ferulic acid)
Hemicelluloses are branched polymers of relatively low molecular weight. They bind
tightly to the surface ofthe cellulose micro fibrils and to each other by hydrogen bonding, and
can be referred to as cross~linking glycans (Weliz et aI., 2010). It contains a variety of5~ and 6-
carbon sugars such as glucose, mannose, xylose, arabinose, galactose, and 4-0-methyl
glucuronic acid (Figure 1b). Hemicelluloses are cross-linked via ester linkages to predominately
17
cinnamic (ferulic) acids, forming covalent linkages with lignin, making plant cell wall hydrolysis
Lignin is a highly branched aromatic polymer of largely guaiacyl and syringyl monomers
with connecting three-carbon aliphatic sidechains (Figure 1c) (Orts et aI., 2008). It is a
cementing material in lignocellulosic fibers providing structural rigidity to the cell wall.
and readily available raw agricultural products and wastes. One of the main approaches for the
utilization of LC wastes is their microbiological and/or enzymatic conversion to value added and
The conversion ofLCs to value-added products includes two sub-processes: hydrolysis ofLC
materials to fermentable sugars and fermentation of sugars to target products (Saber et aI., 2010).
cellulolytic bacteria and fungi. The fungal kingdom constitutes a promising group of
that cleave the internal fJ-l, 4-glucosidic bonds and exoglucanases that act in a processive
manner on the reducing or non-reducing ends of cellulose polysaccharide chains, thus liberating
either glucose or cellobiose as major products (Saber et aI., 2010). The action of cellulase system
on insoluble cellulose results in three processes simultaneously: physical and chemical changes
in the solid-phase cellulose; primary hydrolysis; and secondary hydrolysis (Wertz et aI., 2010).
Hemicellulose is not easily nor economically degraded due to presence of xylose which
takes longer time and higher cost for fermentation (Orts et aI., 2008). Studies have shown a
Lignin is a complex polymer that physically surrounds and protects cellulose and
hemicelluloses from enzymatic hydrolysis and is also resistant to microbial degradation (Yamac
& Tamer, 2008). In this case, effective uses of lignocelluloses depend on delignification of plant
material. The removal of lignin not only increases cellulose accessibility and availability. Only
some microorganisms such as white rot fungi and actinobacteria are capable of degrading lignin
by an oxidative process. This oxidative process involves enzymes such as lignin peroxidases
(LiP), manganese peroxidases (MnP), and laccases (Kerem & Hadar, 1998).
Beer is a popular beverage with world production volume increasing annually (F AO,
2009). The brewing process generates a significant amount of bypro ducts and wastes. The most
common bypro ducts of a brewery are brewers' spent grain (BSG), spent hops, and surplus yeast.
Brewers who do their own malting also produce malt sprouts. The major challenge in a brewery
is not only these wastes produced but also their bulk. A typical small brewery brewing 1500 litres
three times a week will produce around two tons ofBSG in a week (Thomas & Rahman, 2006).
Large regional breweries producing 1,OOOHL beer per day will have 40 tons per day to remove.
With the emergence of global concerns on climate change, and environmental pollution,
regulations call for reduction in waste generation, and the transition towards sustainable and
BSG accounts for approximately 85% of the total bypro ducts generated in a brewery
(Tang, et aI., 2009). It is the solid material left after the malt has been mashed. BSG is produced
in large quantities and is readily available at low or no cost throughout the year. It accounts, on
average, for 31 % of the original malt weight, representing approximately 20 kg per 100 L of beer
produced (Mussatto et aI., 2006). In 2008, 1.8 billion hI of beer was produced worldwide, and
this represents the generation of36 million tons ofBSG (Robertson et aI., 2010).
While BSG contains significant energy resources from its organic contents, there are
major difficulties in a sustainable energy balance because of its high moisture and nutrient
content and handling difficulties (Thomas & Rahman, 2006). Since BSG is prone to chemical
and microbial deterioration mechanisms, the urgency to remove BSG from brewery area is of
prime importance to brewing operations. Large breweries have mechanized system to collect,
process, and distribute the BSG for further use. However, in small breweries, BSG in most cases
is given away for little or no economic value for use in animal feeds. In other cases, BSG is
disposed off into landfills (Aliyu & Bala, 2011). Therefore, there is a need of technologies for
cereal grain after wheat, maize, and rice (Mussatto et aI., 2006). It is used commercially for
animal feed, malt production for beer and for human consumption. About 13% of barley
produced worldwide is processed into malt (F AO, 2009). Barley grain is rich in starch and
proteins and consists of three main pmis: the endosperm (starchy material), the germ (proteins)
The malting of barley activates enzymes that modify the structure of the starchy
endosperm. In the brewery, the malted barley is milled, and then mixed with water in a mash
20
tun. The enzymes act on barley substrate to convert starch into fermentable sugars (mainly
maltose, maltotriose, glucose) and non-fermentable sugars (dextrins). Also proteins are partially
degraded to polypeptides and amino acids. These soluble fractions are extracted into the water
which forms sweet liquid known as wort. The wort is filtered off for the fermentation step to
make beer while the insoluble, undegraded solid part of the malted barley is left behind which
constitutes the brewers' spent grain. Thus, the brewing process only removes certain nutrients
from the malt necessary to produce the wOli, but leaves behind washed, water insoluble proteins
and the cell wall residues of the husk, pericarp and seed coat within the spent grain.
Composition of BSG. BSG basically consists of the husk-pericarp-seed coat layers that
covered the original barley grain. Wide variability in the composition of BSG can be found due
to variations in grain used, harvest time, malting and mashing condition, and quality and type of
adjuncts used in the brewing process. BSG is considered as a lignocellulosic material rich in
protein and fiber (Mussatto et aI., 2006). BSG contains cellulose and non-cellulosic
polysaccharides and lignin, and may contain some lipids. Compositionally BSG has about 17%
cellulose, 28% non-cellulosic polysaccharides, mainly arabinoxylans, and 28% lignin. The
protein and fiber content is very high around 20% and 70% dry basis, respectively.
Xylose, glucose, and arabinose are the most abundant monosaccharides found in BSG
(Aliyu & Bala, 2011). BSG also constitutes some minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. The
minerals found in BSG are calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus,
potassium, selenium, sodium and sulphur. The vitamins include (ppm): biotin (0.1), choline
(1800), folic acid (0.2), niacin (44), pantothenic acid (8.5), riboflavin (1.5), thiamine (0.7) and
pyridoxine (0.7). Some essential amino acids have also been found in BSG.
21
The crude fiber content (including lignin and carbohydrates mostly cellulose) in brewers'
spent grain is about 14-15% on a dry solids basis (Keilbach, 2009). Other fiber components
include hemicelluose, pectins, gums, mucilages, and maillard products. Total dietary fiber in
BSG in about 56% of which 2.5% is soluble dietary fiber and 53.5% is insoluble.
Preservation technique of BSG. Due to high moisture content (70-75% in wet BSG)
and some residual fermentable sugars, BSG can be rapidly deteriorated due to chemical and
transportation challenges to brewing operations. It has been proposed that the moisture content
ofBSG has to be reduced to below 10% (wet basis, wb) to prolong its storage time (Tang et aI.,
2005).
volume, and consequently reduces transportation and storage costs (Aliyu & Bala, 2011).
However, breweries typically do not dry the BSG generated due to high energy costs involved.
Instead, most breweries send it for cattle feed, composting, soil amendments in farmlands or
disposed in landfills. Some breweries apply a two stage preservation techniques: first, BSG is
pressed to reduce moisture content to less than 60% and then dried to reduce the moisture
Oven drying is the most suitable drying method, however in addition freeze-drying
(Bartolome et aI., 2002) and superheated steam (Tang et aI., 2005) have also been tested. Oven-
drying has to be carried out at temperatures below 60C in order to avoid unpleasant flavor
which may be produced by higher temperatures and the risk of toasting and burning of dried
BSG (Robertson et aI., 2010). A preservation study conducted by Bartolome et aI. (2002) with
oven drying, freeze drying and freezing BSG showed that oven drying and freeze drying reduced
22
the volume of the product without altering its composition. Freezing affected the composition of
some sugars such as arabinose and was thereby considered not to be suitable process for
preserving BSG.
Tang et aI. (2005) suggested thin-layer drying using superheated stearn (SS) as an
alternative method to dry BSG. The process used a close-loop system of circulating superheated
stearn that reduced energy wastage during hot-air drying. The exhaust stearn produced from the
evaporation of moisture from the BSG could also be used in other operations. The drying in SS
had no significant effect on the nutrient content ofBSG. Overall, the superheated stearn method
has several advantages including the reduction of the environmental impacts, an improvement in
drying efficiency, the elimination of fire or explosion risk, and a recovery of valuable volatile
A membrane filter press with hot water (65C) has also been used to dry BSG to moisture
levels of between 20 and 30% (El-Shafey et aI., 2004). Al-Hadithi et aI. (1985) showed effective
chemical preservation of BSG by using lactic, formic, acetic and benzoic acids and potassium
Applications of BSG. BSG has been considered a waste product for a long time. With
an increase in disposal cost due to legislation and corresponding decline in traditional disposal
routes for the solid material (such as animal feed), alternative commercial uses for BSG are
being sought. This drive is also supportive by the revelation of nutrient rich properties ofBSG.
Various alternate applications of the BSG investigated for many years require targeted and
Animal feed. The primary application of BSG is in animal feed. Both wet and dry BSG
can be used in ruminant animal feed, due to its high content of protein and fiber. Low cost BSG
23
when combined with inexpensive nitrogen sources, such as urea, can provide rich source of
energy, essential amino acids, and other micronutrients to ruminant animals. BSG incorporation
in the diet of cows reported an increase in milk yield, milk total solid content, and milk fat yield
Although BSG is primarily utilized for feeding dairy cattle, the feeding has been done on
other animals such as poultry, pigs, and fish. Egg production and hatchability were improved
with breeder turkey rations including 40% BSG (Keilbach, 2009). Kaur and Saxena (2004)
observed that 30% BSG supplementation on diet containing rice bran showed increased body
weight in fish compared to diet containing rice bran only which is attributed to the presence of
essential amino acids like lysine, arginine and methionine in BSG. Fiber from BSG when fed to
monogastric animals may significantly alter their fat and lean muscle content (Keilbach, 2009).
Human nutrition. Despite its high nutritive value, BSG has limited use as an ingredient
in human food applications because of its granular structure and color which imparts undesirable
flavor and physical properties of the final products. Therefore, BSG needs to be dried and
converted to flour before addition to human foods. Also, only relatively small quantities (5-
10%) can be added in the food products. It is especially useful in the food that needs to be
incorporated with high fiber contents. The addition of BSG has been evaluated in flakes, whole-
wheat bread, biscuits and aperitif snacks (Mussatto et ai., 2006). A high protein flour prepared
from BSG was successfully incorporated into a number of bakery products, including bread,
muffins, cookies, mixed grain cereals, fruit and vegetable loaves, cakes, waffles, pancakes,
BSG fiber has been suggested to provide human health benefits through changes in
gastric emptying which helps in slower and efficient absorption of nutrients in the body
24
(Mussatto et aI., 2006). These health benefits have achieved great interest that the production of
food-grade fiber products from BSG can be the greatest opportunity to upgrade the value of BSG
(Keilbach, 2009). BSG flour in food delivers functional properties including ease in blending,
lower calorie content, higher water absorption capacity, supplementation of protein, fiber and
essential minerals, uniform tan color, bland flavor, and mildly roasted aroma (Keilbach, 2009).
The ingestion ofBSG, or derived products, provides health benefits, which are associated
with increased fecal weight, accelerated transit time, increased cholesterol and fat excretion and
histopathological study of rats after feeding with a diet containing BSG at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15%
weight/weight. There were changes in body weight, haemoglobin, lymphocytes, WBC, RBC,
and liver condition of rats. Based on their findings, they suggested that a BSG blend range of 1-
3 % will be appropriate for utilization in human food without adverse effect on the liver.
Substrate for microorganisms and enzyme production. The presence of high moisture
content, protein and polysaccharides make BSG particularly suitable for microbial growth. The
protein fraction of BSG was used as medium for enhanced growth and sporulation of soil
actinobacteria, especially Streptomyces (Szponar et aI., 2003). BSG was reported to be used for
the cultivation of Bifidobacterium adolescenfis, Lactobacillus sp. (Novik et aI., 2007), and
mushroom) was successful using BSG as basal substrate or as a supplement (Gregori et aI., 2008;
esterases (Mandalari et aI., 2008). BSG, with the presence of digestible and non-digestible
25
organic residues is a potential substrate for the production of ~-amylases and amyloglucosidase
Various other enzymes have also been reported to be produced using BSG. Nascimento
et aI. (2009) showed the production of cellulase using Streptomyces malaysiensis. Feruloyl
esterase (F AE) and xylanase production by Humicola grisea var. thermo idea and Talaromyces
Stipitatus in BSG were repOlied (Mandalari et aI., 2008). Adeniran & Abiose (2009) observed
microorgansims on BSG. BSG was also a good substrate for production of alpha-amylase by
Aspergillus Olyzae NRRL 6270 in solid-state fermentation (Francis et aI., 2002). These studies
indicated that BSG as low-cost substrate can be efficiently used for different enzyme production
con-esponding simple compounds that are of industrial significance as precursors of food grade
chemicals or as energy sources in microbial fermentations (Aliyu & Bala, 2011). Lactic acid has
shown many applications in connection with foods, fermentations, pharmaceuticals, and the
chemical industries. It is also used as a precursor of poly-lactic acid (PLA) production. BSG
hydrolysate has been used as fermentation medium without any supplementation for
Lactobacillus delbrueckii to produce L-Iactic acid (5.4 giL) at 0.73 gig glucose consumed
food flavor precursors (Mussatto et aI., 2007b). Bartoleme et aI., (2002) extracted 0.17-0.24%
26
dry weight ferulic acid, which was lower than other sources like wheat bran, however the
advantage of using BSG was that it does not require preliminary treatment like other sources do
and hence could significantly reduce production costs. Enzymatic hydrolysis of BSG protein
concentrate with the use of proteases generated BSG protein hydrolysates with improved
technological properties (Celus et aI., 2007). Xylitol, a rare sugar with health benefits that could
effort to meet global energy and chemical needs. Ethanol production from BSG is possible after
showed that Fusarium oxysporum converted cellulose and hemicelluloses in BSG directly to
ethanol through the consecutive steps of hydrolysis of the polysachharides and fermentation of
Other uses. Studies have been done to determine the possibility of using BSG to produce
charcoal bricks and evaluating their physical and chemical propeliies (Mussato et aI., 2007a).
Charcoal made from BSG had various minerals and high calorific values, however was inferior
to sawdust charcoal in burning properties. The low amount of ash coupled with the high amount
of fibrous material (lignin, hemicelluloses and cellulose) makes BSG suitable for use in brick
manufacture (Russ et aI., 2005). Bricks produced by using BSG had improved strength, and
porosity, and lower density without changes in color and brick quality. Thus, it is suggested that
BSG could be used as substitute for sawdust which is commonly used in brick-making operation.
27
Studies have been done to use BSG in paper towels, business cards and coasters with superior
Oyster Mushroom
Edible mushrooms belonging to the genus Pleurotus are commonly called oyster
mushrooms and are considered specialty mushrooms in the United States. The cultivation of
oyster mushrooms is becoming popular throughout the world because of its ability to grow in a
wide range of temperatures utilizing various easily available lignocellulosic materials (Baysal et
aI., 2003). It is the third largest commercially cultivated mushroom in the world. The increase
in consumption of the oyster mushroom is largely due to its superior taste, medicinal and
The cultivation of Pleurotus species does not require composed materials or a casing
layer to induce fruit body formation (Kerem & Hadar, 1998). Since Pleurofus sp. can
variety oflignocellulosic wastes can be used or recycled in the cultivation of this variety of
edible fungi.
Pleurotus eryngii
Homobasidiomycetes, order Agaricus, family Pleurofaceae (Cha et aI., 2010). The name eryngii
indicates where the mushroom can be found in the wild: on the roots ofumbelliferous plants,
patiicularly Elyngium and Heracleum. It grows as a parasite on these plants - a big difference
with the other oyster mushrooms which grow well on dead hardwood. It is widespread in
southern Europe and the areas of central Asia and North Africa. Pleurotus eryngii has the ability
enzyme system responsible of the degradation of lignin and different aromatic compounds (Stajic
et aI., 2009).
Pleurotus eryngii is known by several common names such as King Oyster (United
States), Cardoncello or Cardarello (Italy) and Xing bao gu (China) among others. Presently,
Japan, China, South Korea and Italy are the major producers of this mushroom. In the U.S.,
commercial production of this species began in 2000. By 2004, 85 tons were produced in the
The king oyster mushroom fully justifies its name: it is considered to be the most
flavorful among the mushrooms belonging to the genus Pleurotus. The thick, firm stipe of this
mushroom has a pleasant texture and a mild sweet taste. Pleurotus eryngU is less prone to
mechanical damage and bruising, has a significantly longer shelf- life in comparison to other
Pleurotus mushrooms and is therefore better suited for the logistics of food distribution.
Additionally, studies have shown the medicinal, and nutraceutical properties of the Pleurotus
Composition. The cultivated king oyster mushrooms on a suitable substrate can be seen
growing as large fruiting bodies (LFB), small fruiting bodies (SFB), and the base (Mau et aI.,
1998). They showed that LFB comprised 79.90% of total weight and the base comprised
15.47% of total weight. Out of the three parts of king oyster mushrooms, LFB and SFB were
compounds and nonvolatile taste components. However, the base was remarkably different in its
- (LFF3l
,
LI-Lrf!C fruitio<! bodies
Base
Small fnlllmg h\JJtes
(mij (Mau et aI., 1998)
dietary fibers (4.64% of fresh weight; 4.11 % is insoluble and 0.53% is soluble dietary fibers),
followed by chitin (0.50% of fresh weight), and polysaccharides (0041 % of fresh weight) (Stajic
et aI., 2009). The protein content is between 1.88% and 2.65%. Aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and
arginine are the most abundant amino acids. Pleurotus eryngii basidiomata is also a good source
of vitamins (C, A, B2 , B j , D, and niacin) and minerals (especially K, Mg, Na, and Ca). Freshly
harvested P. eryngii basidiomata are high in moisture (86.6-91.7%) and low in lipids (0.8% of
fresh weight). The composition of P. eryngii could vary depending upon strain, development
stage, the type of substrate used for its cultivation and cultural and harvesting practices.
various biologically active compounds including 13-1, 3-glucans, lovastatin, pleureryn, eryngin,
ribonuclease, eryngeolysin, ergothioneine, and protein xb68AB (Stajic et aI., 2009). Pleurotus
eryngeolysin was shown to exhibit anti proliferative action against leukemia cells and
Pleurotus eryngii has been reported to exhibit anti-aging (Guillen et ai., 2000), and blood
(Kang et ai., 2003) and the proliferation of human colon cancer cells (Hawang et ai., 2003). It
also has antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities (Hui et ai., 2002), and activates
immune cells (Kang et ai., 2004). Cha et ai. (2010) investigated the biochemical and enzymatic
activities of fibrinolytic enzyme obtained from P. eryngii. The enzymes showed a high degree of
specificity towards fibrin, and were speculated to have applications in thrombolytic therapy as it
Enzyme System. Pleurotus species are one of the most efficient decomposers of
lignocellulosic materials (Baysal et ai., 2003). For this reason, it is not necessary to pretreat
eryngii is responsible for lignin degradation by producing H20 2 needed for peroxidase activity.
Lignolytic enzymes catalyze the one-electron oxidation of lignin units, resulting in various non-
Pleurotus eryngii produces laccase (Lac), manganese oxidizing peroxidase (MnP), and
aryl-alcohol oxidase (AAO) under submerged liquid cultures and under solid-state fermentation
conditions. (Munoz et ai., 1997b). These enzymes are responsible for degradation oflignin
durign growth stage of mycelia before primorida formation. Laccases (Lac) are glycoproteins
which catalyze the one-electron oxidation of numerous organic and inorganic phenolic and non-
phenolic substrates, as well as Mn2+, in the presence of mediators (Stajic et ai., 2009). Aromatic
amines and phenols are the best substrate for Lac activity. Therefore, in P. eryngii cultivation,
31
laccases are responsible for the depolymerization of lignin, lignin-N complex as well as
metabolizing aromatic compounds released during the process. This facilitates mycelia access to
other nutrients in the substrate and produces lower molecular weight aromatic compounds such
. . . . . . ...
.. ..... ...
H,02 'OH
~
:. QH- ,",vp,/ . Q.-. ~ Q +02'-
:HYdrOqL~nOne 7La~ Autoxidation. Superoxide anion
02"" 'Semiquinone QUInone radical
K
H20 2 radical
H- . Mn 2+ +H-
superoXi~d
dismutase
02 Mn 3+
H20 2
The MnP of P. eryngii catalyzes the H 20 2-dependent oxidation of lignin and lignin
peroxidase (MnP) that oxidizes Mn2+ to Mn3+, which then directly oxidizes lignin and other
phenolic aromatic compounds, and 2) versatile peroxidase (VP) that oxidizes phenolic and non-
polyunsaturated alcohols. During this oxidation, AAO provides H202 needed for the activity of
32
the Mn-oxidizing peroxidases and the generation of the 'OH radical that is involved in the initial
attack on lignocellulose. AAO also has synergistic action with Lac in the process of oxidation of
hydroquinines.
vegetative growth phase, and reproductive growth phase (Chang, 2008). The vegetative growth
phase includes formation of filamentous branched hyphae known as mycelium on the substrate.
After the maturity of mycelia, their growth tips are retarded by regulating the environmental
factors to induce formation of fruiting bodies which is the reproductive growth phase. The
induction of fruiting can be triggered by environmental shocks such as light exposure, increase in
oxygen content, and lowering temperature (Chang, 2008). During the mycelia growth and the
development to mature fruiting bodies, various biochemical changes occur as a result of which
enzymes are secreted extracellularly to degrade the insoluble materials in the substrates into
simple and soluble molecules which are subsequently utilized by the growing mushroom
The substrates used in the cultivation of P. eryngii include sawdust, wheat straw, wheat
and rice bran, corn cobs, cottonseed hulls, chopped rice straw, and soybean meal. Bag
cultivation is the most used system for P. eryngii. Polypropylene or polyethylene bags (0.5-3 kg
substrate/bag) with filter patches are used as containers (Rodriguez and Royse, 2008). After the
primordial formation, the bags are folded to the sides for complete mushrooms development.
The bottle system is used by many growers in Japan, South Korea, China, and in some
modern production facilities in the U.S. and Canada (Chang, 2008). The substrate is contained
exception of the harvesting process that is performed manually. After colonization of the
33
substrate the lid is opened and the top layer of colonized surface is scratched to induce uniform
fructification. Fresh King Oyster mushrooms are sold commercially in over-wrapped packages
Spawn
growing mycelia on cereal grains usually wheat, rye, or millet. The purpose of spawn is to
rapidly colonize the specific bulk-growth substrate (Sanchez, 2004). The success of mushroom
production depends in great part on the quality of the spawn, which must be prepared under
sterile conditions to diminish contamination of the substrate. Several studies have been done to
improve and develop new techniques for the production of spawn (Royse, 2003).
Spawn is made from secondary mycelium (dikaryon) (Royse, 2003). The reason behind
doing this is uncertainty of performance by a new strain that could form from spores.
Commercial spawn producers make spawn under aseptic conditions and ship it to growers in
Materials
Two isotypes of P. eryngii (WC888 and WC943) were obtained from the Penn State
Wisconsin-Green Bay). The fungal cultures were maintained on potato dextrose agar (PDA)
Brewers' spent grain (BSG) was obtained from The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing CO, WI.
The wet BSG was dried at 55C for 24 hrs to moisture content of 7% in a hot air-oven. Rye
grain and Wheat bran (WB) were purchased from the Menomonie co-op market in Menomonie,
WI.
BSG and WB were milled using a 1-L dry blending stainless steel vessel adapted to a
Waring blender base to fine particle size. BSG was used as basal substrate with WB being added
as supplement. Three combination formulations of BSG and WB were made, A = 100% BSG, B
= 75% BSG + 25% WB, and C = 50% BSG + 50% WB. These combinations were taken in
order to examine the differences of BSG stand alone substrate to the WB supplemented
substrates. First, the substrate formulations were mixed with water at three dilution levels (g of
substrate/ml of water), 1:20, 1: 10, and 1:5. After addition of 1.5% agar, the substrate media were
autoclaved at 121 C for 45 minutes. Petri plates containing 25ml of substrate media were
prepared by gently pouring the tempered media into the plates. Plates made with the varying
substrate formulations and the media dilution levels were used to study the main effects on the
growth of P. eryngii. A water agar plate was used as an experimental control. The water activity
(aw) of the substrate media in plates were determined using water activity meter (Aqua lab).
35
The substrate media plates (treatments) and water agar plates were inoculated with a plug
of mycelia (6mm diameter) taken from an actively growing mycelial mat on PDA media. During
incubation at 232C, the diameter of the widest part of colony was measured from the third to
the sixth day of growth. The radius vs. day plot was analyzed with linear regression and the
slope of the line was recorded in Jlm/h which gave the apical extension rate, U r of the P. efyngii
colony (Sanchez & Gonzalez, 1996). The experiment was repeated twice with three replicates in
each experiment.
Preparation of spawn. 100g of rye grain was mixed with 2g calcium carbonate and
120ml warm tap water in a 500ml flask. This preparation was autoclaved at 121C for 45
minutes, cooled to room temperature and then inoculated with two 6 mm plug of P. eryngii
mycelia grown on PDA agar. The inoculated preparation was incubated at 25C until the P.
eryngii fungal mycelia covered the outer surface of the grain. The flask was shaken to distribute
the P. eryngii mycelia for uniform colonization of the rye grain and re-incubated at 25C.
Following complete colonization of the rye grain with P. eyrngii mycelia, the flask was with the
rye grain spawn was stored at 4C and used in the experimental studies.
Substrate preparation and inoculation. Un-milled BSG and WB were mixed dry to get
three substrate combinations as described above. The moisture content was adjusted to 65% and
2% calcium carbonate was added to regulate optimum pH. 200g of each substrate combination
was taken into a glass bottle (473 ml), covered with aluminum foil and then autoclaved at 121
for 45 minutes. After overnight cooling, the substrates were inoculated with 5% rye spawn on
a no humidity control incubator (National Appliance Company, Portland, Oregon) until the
substrate was completely colonized with mycelium (30 days). The bottles were opened and the
surface of the substrate was scratched with a needle to remove aerial mycelium. Scratching
stimulates mycelia to form primordial uniformly over the surface of the substrate. Next 15ml
sterile water was added to each bottle and then covered with plastic sheeting. In this plastic
sheeting, five small holes (1 mm diameter) were punched in all bottles holding the substrate with
the colonized mycelia. This was done to maintain high humidity and oxygen flow. To induce
fruit body formation (fruiting), the bottles were transferred to an environmental chamber (Espec,
Hudsonville, Michigan) maintained at 18C and 95% relative humidity with 12h lightl12h
darkness cycles. The plastic cover was removed after the immature basidiomata touched the
plastic cover. Mushrooms were harvested after 35 days of scratching when the basidiomata
completely matured and the cap was flat. Fresh mushrooms from each bottle were weighed
separately.
conversion of dry substrate to fresh matter in fruit bodies as follows (Wang et aI., 2001):
I . Iff"" (01.)
B10 oglca e IClency 10 = (Weightoffreshfruitbodiesharvested)
.. . X
100/10
Imtlal weight of dry subtrate
Statistical Analysis
level) x 2 (strain) factorial designs with three replicates per treatment. Linear regression line of
radial growth and generalized linear model procedure for analysis of variance (ANOV A) for
apical extension rate were carried out. Tukey's test (p < 0.05) was used to separate the treatment
37
means. Data analyses were performed using the Minitab 16 statistical software (State College,
PA).
38
Pleurotus eryngii mycelial colonization was visible on the third day in the Brewers' spent
grain (BSG)-Wheat bran (WB) substrate media plates with the colony extending in radial
direction upon growth. There was no growth of P. elyngii in water agar plates. Figure 4 shows
the P. eryngii colonization on BSG-WB media plates at different substrate combination and
dilution levels. The variation in dilution level of the media changed the nutrient concentration in
the media with higher dilution resulting in lowered nutrient concentration in the media. There
were also differences in water activity (aw ) of the media with the dilution and compositional
differences. Visual observation showed that the largest diameter occurred in the media treatment
containing 50% BSG + 50% WB combination at 1:20 dilution level while the highest colony
density occurred in plates with the 1:5 dilution levels. There was an inverse relationship between
100% BSG
75% BSG+
25%WB
50% BSG +
50%WB
40 1:20
35
6'30
~25 A1:20
.= 20
rI)
"0 B1:20
~ 15 -
IIC1 :20
10 .
5 .+- .._.-.-._-,.-.......... --....-......--,,-.... -------,--.-- ...----,
3 4 5 6 7 8
40
35 1:10
6'30
~25
rI) A1:10
.= 20
"0 B1:10
~ 15 IIC1:10
10
5
3 4 5 6 7 8
40 1:5
35
6'30
~25
rI) +Al:5
.= 20
"0 Bl:5
~ 15 IIC1 :5
10
5
3 4 5 6 7 8
Figure 5. Pleurotus eryngii WC888 mycelia radial growth on BSG/WB substrate combination
and varying dilution levels (1 :20, 1: 10 and 1 :5) at 232C. A = 100% BSG; B = 75% BSG +
25% WB; C = 50% BSG + 50% WB. Standard elTors are marked with vertical bars.
40
40
1:20
35 f
9'30
525 .Al:20
ell
.::
"0
20 IIIB 1:20
t':S
~ 15 l,CI :20
3 4 5 6 7 8
Days
40
1:10
35
,-,30
s
525 .Al:IO
ell
.:! 20
"0
t':S
IIIB 1:1 0
~ 15 .\CI:lO
10
5
3 4 5 6 7 8
40 1
I 1:5
I
35
,-, 30
s
525 .AI:5
ell
Figure 6. Pleurotus eryngii WC943 mycelia radial growth on BSG/WB substrate combination
and varying dilution levels (1 :20, 1: 10 and 1 :5) at 232C. A = 100% BSG; B = 75% BSG +
25% WB; C = 50% BSG + 50% WB. Standard errors are marked with vertical bars.
41
Figure 5 and 6 show the radial growth of two strains of P. eryngii in different substrate
media plates. Among substrate combinations, the radial growth of each strain was highest in
50% BSG + 50% WB media at all dilution levels. Among substrate dilution levels, the radial
growth was highest in 1:20 dilution level in all three substrate formulations.
WC888
-1:20 !;31:10 0 1:5
A B
a
c
a 0.991
250 0.992 b
.-
-=........ a
[200 0.995
'-'
...
~
t':I
'"' 150
....=
~
...='" 100
~
- ~
....t':I
CJ
Q;
50
<
0
100%BSG 75% BSG + 25% WB 50% BSG + 50% WB
Figure 7. Mean apical extension rate of P. eryngii WC888 at different substrate combinations
and dilution levels. The value above the bar represents water activity of the substrate media.
Upper case A, Band C and lower case a, b, and c indicate significant difference between the
treatments.
42
WC943
.1 :20 !3 1: 10 01:5
A B
a
c
a 0.991
250 -
--.
~
200 a
0.992
'-' 0.995
.....~
~
'"' 150
=
....o
'"
~ 100
.....
~
-~
~
's,
50
-<
o
100% BSG 75% BSG + 25% WB 50% BSG + 50% WB
Figure 8. Mean apical extension rate of P. eryngii WC943 at different substrate combination and
dilution levels. The value above the bar represents water activity of the substrate media. Upper
case A, Band C and lower case a, b, and c indicate significant difference between the treatments.
Figure 7 and 8 show mean apical extension rate of two strains of P. eryngii colony at
various substrate compositions and dilution levels. Both substrate combination and substrate
dilution level showed significant differences in apical extension rate, /lr of P. eryngii colony (p <
0.05). The /lr increased by wheat bran supplementation level with 50%BSG + 50% WB
composition giving the maximum value. Similarly, /lr increased by the substrate dilution level
with 1:20 dilution giving the maximum value. Within one substrate combination, the /lr
decreased with decreasing water activity level. The apical extension rate was significantly
different between genotype also (p < 0.05). Strain WC888 showed faster growth than WC943.
The apical extension rate ranged from 82.44/lmlh to 230.36/lm/h for WC888 while it ranged
from 87.9!lmlh to 222.03/lmlh for WC943. A previous study by Lara et al. (2002) on apical
43
extension rate of Pleurotus spp using BSG reported that by increasing BSG content from 10 to
50% on maguey tequila bagasse, the apical extension rate of P. ostreatus and P. pulmonarius
increased gradually with highest apical extension rate of 162.51 J.lm/h in 50:50 combination of
BSG and maquey tequila bagasse. In that sense, P. eryngii showed faster growth than those two
species but difference in species and type of substrate used i.e. wheat bran to maquey tequila
Based upon the results, the different substrate media tested could be arranged according
to extension rate in descending order as follows, for substrate composition; 50% BSG + 50%
WB, 75% BSG + 25% WB, and 100% BSG and for substrate dilution level; 1:20, 1: 10, and 1:5
accordingly. Higher water activity level produced higher apical extension rate. Water
availability in substrate and surrounding environment plays a major role in the fungal growth. It
is equally important factor affecting fruiting body formation (Kues & Liu, 2000). Wang et al.
(2001) showed an increase in biological efficiency and mycelia extension of P. ostreatus with
the increase in moisture content of substrate with an optimum level at 70% moisture. Similar to
the current study where P. eryngii apical extension rate decreased at lowered water activity level,
a previous repOli by Inch and Trinchi (1987) noted reduction in yield and colony radial growth
rate of Paecilomyces farinosus with decrease in water activity of the media substrate.
The mechanisms involved in the control and regulation of mycelial growth are better
studied on solid medium than in submerged cultures, as fungi are adapted to growth on solid
substrates (Reeslev & Kjoller, 1995). In solid medium, colony diameter and radial growth rate
can be used as indicator parameters of fungal growth (Trinci, 1969). The fungal growth involves
germinated spores elongating at the tip and continuous branching to form tubular hyphae. These
hyphae reach to the nutrients available in the media plates extending the colony'S diameter. The
44
filamentous growth nature of fungi and nutrient composition of substrate can cause variation in
colony density. Our results on substrate media plates showed that the growth rate of P. eryngii
colonies was significantly affected by the nutrient that increased in concentration. At lower
substrate dilution level, the nutrient concentration was higher which gave lower apical extension
rate but increased colony density. The results corroborate with the literature that fungi spread
across substrate containing low nutrient concentration at higher radial growth rates (Trinci,
1969). The higher nutrient concentration results in denser colony which was evident by highest
colony density on least substrate dilution level (highest nutrient concentration). A growth study
of Aspergillus niduluans with different concentration of glucose showed that the radial growth
rate and hyphal density of the colony increased with increasing concentration of the glucose up
to an optimum level and then decreased on higher concentration (Trinci, 1969). In a similar
study done on a noble agar with different apple juice concentrations, the color of epiphytic fungi
darkened and formed sclerotium-like bodies with increased apple juice concentration (Batzer et
aI., 2010). This suggested that nutrient type and concentration in substrate influence the growth
Formation of secondary metabolites and products of autolysis at the centre of colony can
inhibit mycelia growth thus inhibit colony radial growth rate if they diffuse through the medium
and accumulate below the peripheral growth zone (Robson, Bell, & Kuhn, 1987). Nutrient
concentration may also have an effect on colony growth rate by influencing the rate of hyphal
septa formation (Trinci, 1971). Substrate inhibition and/or the accumulation of inhibitory
substances and different rate of septa formation may have resulted in variation in the growth rate
Pleurotus eryngii mycelia growth rate in the cultivation study, as in the plates study was
observed to be highest in 50% BSG + 50% WB combination for both genotypes WC888 and
WC943 (Figure 9). Denser substrate colonization was also visible with WB supplementation.
The primordial formation occurred after 2 weeks and 3 weeks of scratching in 50% BSG + 50%
WB and 75% BSG + 25% WB combination respectively. There were no primordial and fruiting
body formations in the 100 % BSG substrate. The WC943 strain of P. eryngii had no fruiting
bodies in any of the substrate combinations. One flush of mushroom and one fruiting
Figure 9. P. eryngii (WC888 and WC943) mycelial growth on BSG/WB combination substrate.
A = 100% BSG; B = 75% BSG + 25% WB; C = 50% BSG + 50% WB.
The mushroom cultivation pictures are shown in Figure 10. The fruiting body produced
from 50% BSG + 50% WB combination was larger than one produced from 75% BSG + 25%
WB combination. The average length and diameter of mushroom stipe from 50% BSG + 50%
WB combination were 10 cm and 3.6 cm respectively with cap diameter averaging 6.5cm.
Likewise, the average length and diameter of mushroom stipe from 75% BSG + 25% WB
combination were 6 cm and 2.4 cm respectively. The average cap diameter was 2 cm.
46
a)
b) c)
d) e) f)
Figure 10. P. eryngii WC888 cultivation on BSG and WB substrates a) Rye spawn b) Bottles
inside environmental chamber c) Mushroom growing in the bottles d) & e) Fruiting bodies
produced from 50% BSG + 50% WB f) Fruiting body produced from 75% BSG + 25% WB
47
The data on Table 1 shows the yield and biological efficiency (BE %) of P. eryngii
WC888 grown on different substrate composition. 50% BSG + 50% WB recorded the highest
yield and BE being 46.2 g/kg and 66.97% respectively, while 75% BSG + 25% WB substrate
Table 1.
100 % BSG o o
These results concluded that BSG when supplemented with WB had significant effects on
P. eryngii mycelia growth and mushroom yield. This is in agreement with other studies
wheat bran. Hasan et al. (2010) observed that 25% wheat bran supplementation in substrate
made of sawdust, soybean straw, and rice straw media resulted in maximum mycelium linear
growth. Similarly, the wheat bran supplementation to the substrate produced higher sclerotia
biomass in the Penicillium sp. solid-state fermentation (Han & Yuan, 2003). Schnurer (1991)
measured fungal growth in terms of colony forming unit and ergosterol content and showed that
the highest growth was visible in wheat bran compared to other components of wheat grain. In a
study conducted by Hassan and Bullerman (2009), wheat bran gave highest mycelial growth and
macro conidia formation by Fusarium species. Likewise, 10% addition of wheat bran as organic
nitrogen supplement gave 20% higher biological efficiency by P. ostreatus var florida grown on
48
wheat straw (Upadhyay et aI., 2002). A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) biodegradation
study of wheat bran during P. ostreatus growth showed changes in molecular composition of
wheat bran with preferential loss of hemic elluloses and possibly other amorphous carbohydrates
(Locci et aI., 2008). This suggested wheat bran as a good substrate for the cultivation of P.
ostreatus.
The fungal species ability to grow and form fruiting bodies is dependent on both fungal
and substrate associated factors. The fungal associated factors include its ability to produce
necessary hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes necessary to break down and utilize major
components of the substrate. The substrate associated factors include the substrate physical and
chemical structure, nutrient content, and presence of inhibitory substances. Various authors have
reported the increase in mushroom yield by the supplementation of substrate with protein rich,
carbohydrate rich or oil-rich substances like soybean meal, cotton seed hull, wheat bran, rice
bran, alfalfa meal, bagasse, or corn gluten meal (Rodriguez & Royse, 2007; Lara et aI., 2002;
Wang et aI., 2001). Even in P. eryngii cultivation study, 20% rice bran supplementation to
wheat straw-cotton straw yielded fruiting bodies with BE of 77.2% compared to BE of 48.6% for
The need for substrate supplementation is to complement the nutrient requirement of the
fungi in terms of both organic (Carbon and Nitrogen) and inorganic components. Although, both
carbon concentration and C:N ratio in the substrate have significant effect on fungal growth, C:N
ratio was shown to be more influential than carbon concentration (Gao et aI., 2007). The
optimum C:N ratio requirements for growth on substrates varies among fungal isolates even
within the same species. The P. eryngii being oyster mushroom requires more carbon and less
nitrogen in the substrate than button mushroom (Kang, 2004). But still, all the substrate used in
49
production needs to be supplemented with nitrogen source like wheat bran and rice bran to reach
optimal C:N ratio. A previous study by Philippoussis et aI. (2001) indicated positive correlation
between P. eryngii mycelia growth and mushroom yield with substrate C:N ratio (Philippoussis,
et aI., 2001). Nitrogen is an essential element for cellular functions for growth and various
metabolic activities particularly protein and enzymes synthesis (Buswell et aI., 1993). It is also
essential especially during the fructification of the mushroom and depletion of it in substrate can
substantially affect the mushroom yield. Nitrogen is also considered a rate-limited factor for
extension of fungal growth and decay in wood material showing the effects of nitrogen
Wheat bran supplementation could have shown better growth due to both physical
structure and nutrient content of the wheat bran. Substrate particle affects both vegetative
growth and yield of mushrooms (Royse, 2001). Wheat bran particles increase the porosity within
the substrate which allows better oxygen supply and hence higher biomass. In the study, the
compositional and nutrient variation of WB with BSG could have largely affected the growth of
P. eryngii in different substrate composition. Table 2 compares the composition of BSG with
WB and other substrates (cotton waste and saw dust) used in mushroom cultivation. The
noticeable important differences observed in the BSG and WB are the nitrogen content and
carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N). WB (2.6%) has higher nitrogen than BSG (1.02%), C:N ratio
being 21: 1 in WB and 35: 1 in BSG respectively. Wheat bran also contains about 10-20% of
starch. Starch can be easily broken down into glucose providing simple nutrient available for
fungal growth. In summation, the presence of some extra nutrients in the form of nitrogen,
amino acids, starch resulted in better growth and yield of P. eryngii in WB supplemented
substrate.
50
Table 2.
fungi
Cellulose (%) 17 15 73 54
Lignin (%) 28 8 6 29
(Jang et aI., 2000; Choi, 2004; Aliyu & Bala, 2011; Locci et aI., 2008)
Table 2 also shows that BSG provides better nitrogen source than cotton waste and
sawdust which are commercially used substrate for mushroom cultivation. However, cellulose
content is lower in BSG than those two substrates. It indicated that BSG can be used as nitrogen
source which will require some carbohydrate source to complement the substrate for the
mushroom cultivation.
growth, biological efficiency and quality (Moonmoon et aI., 2010). Basically, individual strains'
growth requirement variation with respect to N or protein, and carbon in the substrate is the
attributing factor. Therefore, P. eryngii WC888 and WC943 when grown on BSG-WB
combinations behave differently and resulted in variation in growth rate and yield in the single
substrate combination. This was in conformity with Rodriguez and Royse (2007) who also
observed significant differences in the yield, BE, number of mushroom and mushroom size
51
between WC888 and WC846 strains of P. eryngii. Similarly, type of P. eryngii strain and
growth substrate composition were shown to have effect on mycelia run rate, number of fruiting
Our result is comparable with the study done by Wang et al. (2001) using BSG for the
cultivation of P. ostreatus. In the study, the replacement of saw dust with BSG increased the
biological efficiency of mushroom by almost 3 times (5.8% dry wet basis in sawdust substrate to
16.9% in BSG substrate). As with our result wheat bran supplementation increased the
biological efficiency, an optimum supplementation level of 45%. Similarly, BSG without any
supplementation resulted in fewer fruiting bodies. Lack of low molecular carbohydrates and/or
vitamins in the BSG was thought to be responsible for the lower yield of BSG alone substrate.
Rodriguez and Royse (2007) studied growth of P. eryngii WC846 and WC888 strain
using cottonseed hulls/sawdust as basal substrate at various Mn, Cu, and ground soybean
supplementation were 64.8% for Mn supplements, 59% for Cu supplements, and 63.6% for
soybean supplements. Elsewhere the biological efficiency of Pleurofus ostreatus and Pleurotus
pulmonarius grown with 50% BSG + 50% maquey tequila bagasse were 29.2% and 25.9%
respectively (Lara et aI., 2002). Gregori et al. (2008) showed highest biological efficiency of
51 % for Pleurotus ostreafus mushroom at 10% BSG addition to sawdust and wheat bran
substrate. 50% BSG + 50% WB combination without any other supplementation showed higher
biological efficiency (66.97%) than those obtained from previous work as described above.
One reason for the BSG alone showing slower growth rate and not able to produce
fruiting bodies could be higher content oflignin (28%) compared to that in wheat bran (8%).
Lignin moiety binds cellulose and hemicellulose preventing fungal hydrolyzing enzyme's access
52
to those polysaccharides. This could have markedly reduced the ability of P. eryngii to grow and
form fruiting body in presence of high lignin content ofBSG. Also lignocellulosic components
might produce some phenolic monomers during lignin degradation which are thought to be
inhibitory to fungal growth and hydrolytic enzymes responsible for breakdown of plant cell wall
polysaccharides (Buswell et aI., 1993). Production of such inhibitory substances might have also
Boyle (1998) investigated nutritional factors affecting the growth pattern of various
no effect on the growth indices. However nitrogen added in the form of glutamate caused an
increase in all the growth indices. He also suggested that nitrogen supplementation in a complex
simple form. In general, N sources inhibited lignin degradation by white rot fungi except for P.
ostreatus and L. edodes. In our study, P. eryngii might have behaved like those species which
can be said by that nitrogen supplementation (WB) produced slightly higher growth rate and
yield indicating that the N supplementation did not largely inhibit the lignin degradation which
otherwise would have reduced the growth rate of the P. eryngii in the WB supplemented
substrate. The results with different dilution levels or substrate composition are supportive that
nitrogen concentration variations in the substrate may affect lignin degradation and the resulting
Pleurotus eryngii colonization in 100% BSG in both media plates and cultivation
substrate indicated that BSG was self-supporting nutrient substrate for mycelia development (and
associated enzyme viz. laccase, MnP, AAO production). For the study BSG was dried to
prolong the storage life until it was used. Instead, wet BSG sourced directly from breweries or
53
water-rinsed BSG may also be used as they have shown to increase the biological efficiency of
the mushroom produced (Wang et aI., 2001). Therefore, in commercial production, the direct
use of wet BSG may be preferable as it may avoid additional drying and treatment costs.
54
Chapter V: Conclusion
Brewers' spent grain was successfully used as basal substrate material for the cultivation
of P. eryngii. BSG when supplemented with wheat bran increased P. eryngii colony extension
rate in plates and in larger cultivation-scale bottles. Out of three combinations, 50% BSG and
50% WB substrate combination showed the highest mycelium growth rate of P. eryngii. This
combination resulted in the highest biological efficiency (66.97%) for P. eryngii WC888
genotype. The BE of P. eryngii fruiting bodies produced from BSG was higher than the BE of
The study showed that BSG alone can support growth of P. eryngii mycelia. This could
draw wide interest for the use of BSG in various biotechnological applications other than
mushroom cultivation like in enzyme, organic acids and other hydrolysis preparation, and also in
industrial waste, instead should be taken as a prominent resource for recycling into a value-added
The study also concluded that P. eryngii with its fast mycelia growth rate and multilateral
enzyme system is able to utilize BSG as nutrient source for its growth and mushroom production.
The nutrient type and concentration in substrate plays significant role in the P. eryngii mycelium
growth and biological efficiency ofthe cultivated mushroom. The ability of P. eryngii to grow
on substrate is largely dependent on the strain type also. Genotype and nutrient requirement
variation of strain influences the growth pattern, yield and size of fruiting body of mushroom
The large continuous supply and low-cost availability of BSG make it potential substrate
in the commercial cultivation of mushroom. This efficient recycling of BSG can lead to benefits
55
from both economic and environmental standpoints. Brewers can largely save their disposal cost
and also pollution issues associated with BSG after its proper direction. Mushroom growers on
other hand will have access to voluminous substrate locally at low cost that will generate high
productivity and potential profit to their business. It is also more likely that BSG use in
mushroom industry could markedly reduce the production cost and market price of the P. eryngii
Further extensive work needs to be carried out before the larger scale utilization of the
BSG in mushroom production. Following studies can be done for future research work with the
aim of the optimization ofBSG as a basal substrate for cultivation of mushroom and other
1. The growth rate study of P. eryngii showed BSG as suitable nutrient reserve for the mycelia
growth of the P. eryngii. In addition to that, the extent of growth can be quantified by
various techniques like measuring fluorescein diacetate hydrolyzing activity, protein and
chitin content, lignin and dry weight losses, and others. This would give understanding of
2. The type and amount of enzymes determine the ability of the fungi to grow in that particular
substrate. Enzyme production largely depends upon the type of substrate used.
dependent peroxidase (MnP) and aryl-alcohol oxidase (AAO) will help better understand the
suitability of the growth of fungus for mushroom and even for other enzyme production from
3. The biological efficiency ofthe mushroom produced from 50:50 combination ofBSG and
WB was very high compared to most of the previous work. The proximate composition of
fruiting body produced from BSG would be helpful to judge the nutritive value of BSG
4. The study had shown that the supplementation of wheat bran significantly increased the
growth rate and yield of P. eryngii. Similarly, the supplementation ofBSG with other
nutritious supplements like wheat straw, cottonseed hulls, and soybean meals should be
compared to determine optimum substrate combination for P. eryngii growth in BSG. Since
total nitrogen, carbon:nitrogen content of substrate proved to be very essential for the
mycelia formation and yield, BSG should be evaluated with other substrates to optimize the
carbon:nitrogen ratio.
5. The bulky nature and high moisture content ofBSG are major challenges to its feasible
utilization. Economical means of drying BSG in brewery and/or limited cost transportation
locally to recycle location should be mechanized efficiently for sustainable BSG application.
57
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Dilution levels
Substrate combinations
1:20 1:10 1:05