Production of polyunsaturated fatty acids by Pythium ultimum in solid-state cultivation

The oleaginous fungus Pythium ultimum was cultivated on various solid subst rates in order to achieve fungal oil enriched in the polyunsaturated fatty acids arachidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid. Cultivation parameters, s uch as incubation temperature and time, substrate composition, and moisture were optimized, so as to obtain as much as 3.5 mg eicosapentaenoic acid an d 1.6 mg arachidonic acid/g of wet substrate consisting of 28.5% pearled ba rley, 5.75% spent malt grains, 5.75% linseed oil, and 60%; nutrient solutio n. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.