Optimization and Production of Itaconic Acid from Estuarine Aspergillus terreus using Economically Cheaper Substrate

Itaconic acid (IA) is an organic acid. It is used in medicine, resins, agriculture, and polymer production. In the present study, sediment sample was collected aseptically from Vellar estuary, Parangipettai, Tamil Nadu, India. About 1.6 × 102 to 6.1 × 103 colony forming units/g density of fungal strains were isolated and screened for IA production. As a result of the tested strains Aspergillus terreus was observed as the most potential strain. Optimization was done at different temperatures (25–45°C), in different pH (5.0–7.0). The impact of salinity on IA production was evaluated using various salinity (5–25 ppt), carbon sources (1% w/v of glucose, sucrose, dextrose, and maltose), nitrogen sources (0.5% sodium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, and potassium nitrate), and cheaper sources (1% w/v molasses, jackfruit waste, wheat bran, and coconut oil cake). As a result optimized culture condition for IA production was 1% w/v of glucose - best carbon source, 1% w/v molasses - best cheaper carbon source, 0.5% of sodium nitrate - best nitrogen source, salinity - 20 ppt, temperature - 40°C, and pH - 5.5 and incubation time – 96 h. Compared to glucose (0.41 mg/ml) production of IA was high when molasses (0.61 mg/ml) was used as carbon source, it is also economically good. Mass scale culture was done using molasses instead of glucose with an optimized parameter. After mass scale culture, IA production was 6.3g/l