Environmental Biotechnology for Bioconversion of Agricultural and Forestry Wastes into Nutritive Biomass

Abstract

The cellulose is the most widely distributed skeletal polysaccharide and represents about 50% of the cell wall material of plants. Beside hemicellulose and lignin, cellulose is a major component of agricultural wastes and municipal residues. The cellulose and hemicellulose comprise the major part of all green plants and this is the main reason of using such terms as "cellulosic wastes" or simply "cellulosics" for those materials which are produced especially as agricultural crop residues, fruit and vegetable wastes from industrial processing, and other solid wastes from canned food and drinks industries. The cellulose biodegradation using fungal cells is essentially based on the complex interaction between biotic factors, such as the morphogenesis and physiology of fungi, as the cellulose composition and its complexness with hemicellulose and lignin (Andrews & Fonta, 1988; Carlile & Watkinson, 1996). An efficient method to convert cellulose materials, in order to produce unconventional highcalorie foods or feeds, is the direct conversion by cellulolytic microorganisms. Theoretically, any microorganism that can grow as pure culture on cellulose substrata, used as carbon and energy sources, should be considered a potential organism for "single-cell protein" (SCP) or "protein rich feed" (PRF) producing. 2. Biotechnology of mycelia biomass producing through submerged bioconversion of agricultural crop wastes The submerged cultivation of mushroom mycelia is a promising method which can be used in novel biotechnological processes for obtaining pharmaceutical substances of anticancer,

Nutritional Composition, Physical Qualities and Sensory Evaluation of Wheat Bread Supplemented with Oyster Mushroom

“…They include members of the Basidiomycota and some members of Ascomycota. Mushrooms thrive well on wood and agro waste products e.g., straws, corn, corn cobs, sugarcane bagasse and coffee residues (Petre and Petre, 2013). Oyster mushrooms are more popular because they are easiest and least expensive to cultivate besides their nutritional and medicinal value (Stamets, 2008).…”

Microbial composting of fruit tree wastes through controlled submerged fermentation

“…The microbial strains of B. subtilis and P. ostreatus were used in pairs as well as separately to compare the efficiency of their biological potential in bioconversion of fruit wastes into protein biomass (Petre and Petre, 2013). …”

“…The design of this bioreactor incorporates a device to keep the constant temperature, an inoculum reservoir, a sterile air supply device in aerobic processes, a culture vessel as well as an automation panel for bioprocess monitoring and management (Petre and Petre, 2013).…”

“…In this respect, one of the most efficient biotechnological method to convert the cellulosic wastes resulted alcoholic distillation of fermented fruit tree wastes, such as juice and pulps of apples, pears and plums, is their controlled submerged fermentation through the enzymatic activity of bacterial cells and edible mushroom mycelia by using automatic biotechnological devices to get nutritive microbial biomass through controlled composting of the fruit tree wastes to be used as natural bio-fertilisers of horticultural crops (Petre and Petre, 2013).…”

Analysis of the influence of laser irradiation on the accumulation of biomass and polysaccharides pleurotus ostreatus (JACQ.) Р. Kumm

“…Scientists pay special attention to obtaining biomass [4] and polysaccharides of P. ostreatus [7,8]. The influence of substrates from extracts of waste sunflower husk, oat seed meal, milk thistle, flax, pumpkin, mustard, rose hips, wheat germ, amaranth seed meal, rapeseed meal, sunflower, ryegrass, walnut, yam, sweet and ordinary potato, cattail rhizome, plantain on biomass characteristics and oyster fungus metabolites [7,9]. The stimulating effect of yam extract on the accumulation of P. ostreatus biomass and exopolysaccharides has been proved [7,9].…”