Diosgenin is used
widely to synthesize steroidal hormone drugs
in the pharmaceutical industry. The conventional diosgenin production
process, direct acid hydrolysis of the root of
Dioscorea
zingiberensis
C. H. Wright (DZW), causes large amounts
of wastewater and severe environmental pollution. To develop a clean
and effective method, the endophytic fungus
Fusarium
sp. CPCC 400226 was screened for the first time for the microbial
biotransformation of DZW in submerged fermentation (SmF). Statistical
design and response surface methodology (RSM) were implemented to
develop the diosgenin production process using the
Fusarium
strains. The environmental variables that significantly affected
diosgenin yield were determined by the two-level Plackett–Burman
design (PBD) with nine factors. PBD indicates that the fermentation
period,
culture temperature, and antifoam reagent addition are the most influential
variables. These three variables were further optimized using the
response surface design (RSD). A quadratic model was then built by
the central composite design (CCD) to study the impact of interaction
and quadratic effect on diosgenin yield. The values of the coefficient
of determination for the PBD and CCD models were all over 0.95.
P
-values for both models were 0.0024 and <0.001, with
F
-values of ∼414 and ∼2215, respectively.
The predicted results showed that a maximum diosgenin yield of 2.22%
could be obtained with a fermentation period of 11.89 days, a culture
temperature of 30.17 °C, and an antifoam reagent addition of
0.20%. The experimental value was 2.24%, which was in great agreement
with predicted value. As a result, over 80% of the steroidal saponins
in DZW were converted into diosgenin, presenting a ∼3-fold
increase in diosgenin yield. For the first time, we report the SmF
of a
Fusarium
strain used to produce diosgenin through
the microbial biotransformation of DZW. A practical diosgenin production
process was established for the first time for
Fusarium
strains. This bioprocess is acid-free and wastewater-free, providing
a promising environmentally friendly alternative to diosgenin production
in industrial applications. The information provided in the current
study may be applicable to produce diosgenin in SmF by other endophytic
fungi and lays a solid foundation for endophytic fungi to produce
natural products.