Valorization of Agricultural Residues for Compactin Production by Aspergillus terreus MTCC 279 in Mixed Substrate Solid State Fermentation

The present study was aimed to enhance the production of compactin by Aspergillus terreus MTCC 279 in mixed substrate solid state fermentation (SSF) using various solid substrates. Twenty solid substrates including agricultural residues and other solid substrates were tested for the compactin and lovastatin production by A. terreus. Among the twenty substrates tested, the three substrates which gave maximum compactin production was taken for further optimization in mixed substrate solid state fermentation in various combinations using response surface methodology. Green peas, millet and ragi were found to be suitable substrates which produced maximum compactin production in SSF. The combinations of the substrates with 1.5 g of green peas, 1.5 g of millet and 1.5 g of ragi gave maximum production of 389.34 mg/gds compactin and 1,467.12 mg/gds lovastatin. Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimal combination of each substrate. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on enhancing compactin production in mixed substrate solid state fermentation.