Purpose: To compare fungal strains including
Aspergillus flavipes
GCBL-72,
Aspergillus flavus
GCBL-60, and
Aspergillus niger
GCBL-45 and determine whether solid- or liquid-state fermentation (SSF or
LSF) is more appropriate for lovastatin production using various inexpensive raw materials.
Methods: LSF and SSF techniques were used to produce the drug lovastatin. High-performance liquid
chromatography was performed out to quantify lovastatin production. A kinetic growth model was
applied to estimate product formation at the expense of substrate utilization.
Results: Aspergillus flavus GCBL-60 was a superior lovastatin-producing strain consuming wheat bran
as the raw material in SSF. The optimum lovastatin production was 28.36 ± 0.76 mg/100mL at 35 °C,
pH 5.5, inoculum size 2 mL, 96 h incubation time, and 60 % moisture content. Evaluation of the kinetic
growth parameters for lovastatin production confirmed that product formation was improved after
fermentation parameter optimization.
Conclusion: Our results indicate that Aspergillus flavus GCBL-60 was best lovastatin-producing strain
and that SSF was superior to LSF for maximum production. Careful optimization can enhance product
formation.