Mushroom cultivation has gained increased attention in recent years. Currently, only four types of spawn, including sawdust spawn, grain spawn, liquid spawn, and stick spawn, are commonly available for mushroom cultivation. This limited spawn diversity has led to difficulty in selecting suitable inoculum materials in some cultivation. In this study, three small blocks of lignocellulosic agro-wastes and one block of a synthetic matrix were prepared as support for growing Pleurotus ostreatus in liquid medium. Mycelium-adsorbed blocks were then evaluated for their potential as block spawn for fructification. Our results indicated that the edible fungus was adsorbed and abundantly grew internally and externally on loofah sponge and synthetic polyurethane foam (PUF) supports and also has the ability to attach and grow on the surface of sugarcane bagasse and corncob supports. The mycelia of P. ostreatus adhered on corncob exhibited the highest metabolic activity, while those on the PUF showed the least activity. Mycelial extension rates of block spawns made of agro-waste materials were comparable to that of sawdust spawn, but the block spawn of PUF showed a significantly lower rate. No significant differences in cropping time and yield were observed among cultivations between experimental block spawns and sawdust spawns. Moreover, the corncob block spawn maintained its fruiting potential during an examined period of 6-month storage. The developed block spawn could be practically applied in mushroom cultivation.
Agaricales ; Fruit ; Fungi ; Luffa ; Pleurotus ; Polyurethanes ; Porifera ; Saccharum

Policosanol extracted from sugarcane wax is a generic term used for total fatty alcohols obtained from esterification of fatty acids. It has been approved as a health functional food by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea in 2006. Policosanol is well-known to aid in lowering blood cholesterol level. Recently, several studies have reported the physiological activities of policosanol, such as anti-inflammatory effects, antioxidant effects, and lowering of the incidence of ageing-related diseases, for example, hypertension, stroke, among others. This review describes the physiological activities of policosanol and its applications in the field of health functional foods.
Antioxidants ; Cholesterol ; Esterification ; Fatty Acids ; Fatty Alcohols ; Functional Food ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Korea ; Saccharum ; Stroke

BACKGROUND: Grass pollen grains are important causes of respiratory allergies. The Philippines has a different grass flora compared to that of western countries, so pollen extracts have to be processed for use in the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory allergies. The local pollen extracts available in clinical practice have not yet been characterized, which is important in improving extract quality.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to perform physicochemical characterization through protein content determination and gradient sodium-dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of extracts from four grasses: Cynodon dactylon (bermuda grass), Axonopus compressus (carabao grass), Imperata cylindrica (cogon), and Saccharum spontaneum (talahib) and immunologic characterization by identifying its IgE-binding component through immunoblot.
METHODS: This is a descriptive study. The pollen grains were processed into allergen extracts and protein contents were determined. The extracts were separated by gradient SDS-PAGE and subjected to immunoblotting. Bands were visualized using Fluorchem C2 aided with Alpha View Software.
RESULTS: Total protein in the pollen extracts ranged from 281.3-968.61 µg/ml. Protein bands of bermuda were in the 14.4-66.3 kDa range, carabao grass at 3.5-66.3 kDa, cogon at 3.5-200 kDA, and talahib at 21.5-66.3 kDa. A single IgE-binding protein band was seen on immunoblot at 55.4 kDa using a single serum sample.
CONCLUSION: Protein contents of the allergen extracts vary. The molecular weights of the different protein bands seem to correspond to known groups of grass pollen allergens. There was only one IgE-binding protein band seen on preliminary immunoblot.

Allergens ; Bermuda ; Cynodon ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Galectin 3 ; Immunoblotting ; Immunoglobulin E ; Molecular Weight ; Philippines ; Poaceae ; Pollen ; Respiratory Hypersensitivity ; Saccharum ; Sodium ; Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

Sugarcane molasses containing large amounts of sucrose is an economical substrate for succinic acid production. However, Escherichia coli AFP111 cannot metabolize sucrose although it is a promising candidate for succinic acid production. To achieve sucrose utilizing ability, we cloned and expressed cscBKA genes encoding sucrose permease, fructokinase and invertase of non-PTS sucrose-utilization system from E. coli W in E. coli AFP111 to generate a recombinant strain AFP111/pMD19T-cscBKA. After 72 h of anaerobic fermentation of the recombinant in serum bottles, 20 g/L sucrose was consumed and 12 g/L succinic acid was produced. During dual-phase fermentation comprised of initial aerobic growth phase followed by anaerobic fermentation phase, the concentration of succinic acid from sucrose and sugarcane molasses was 34 g/L and 30 g/L, respectively, at 30 h of anaerobic phase in a 3 L fermentor. The results show that the introduction of non-PTS sucrose-utilization system has sucrose-metabolizing capability for cell growth and succinic acid production, and can use cheap sugarcane molasses to produce succinic acid.
Bioreactors ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Escherichia coli Proteins ; genetics ; Fermentation ; Membrane Transport Proteins ; genetics ; Metabolic Engineering ; Molasses ; Saccharum ; chemistry ; Succinic Acid ; chemistry ; Sucrose ; chemistry

The study was conducted to compare the effects of different agro-wastes on the growth, yield, and nutritional composition of oyster mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus (PO) and Pleurotus cystidiosus (PC). Seven substrate formulas including sawdust (SD), corncob (CC), sugarcane bagasse (SB) alone and in combination of 80 : 20, 50 : 50 ratio between SD and CC, SD and SB were investigated. The results indicated that different substrate formulas gave a significant difference in total colonization period, characteristics of fruiting bodies, yield, biological efficiency (BE), nutritional composition and mineral contents of two oyster mushrooms PO and PC. The results showed that increasing CC and SB reduced C/N ratio, and enhanced some mineral contents (Ca, P, and Mg) of substrate formulas. The increased amount of CC and SB of substrate formulas enhanced protein, ash, mineral contents (Ca, K, Mg, Mn, and Zn) of fruiting bodies of both mushrooms. Substrates with 100% CC and 100% SB were the most suitable substrate formulas for cultivation of oyster mushrooms PO and PC in which they gave the highest values of cap diameter, stipe thickness, mushroom weight, yield, BE, protein, fiber, ash, mineral content (Ca, K, and Mg) and short stipe length. However, substrate formula 100% CC gave the slowest time for the first harvest of both mushrooms PO and PC (46.02 days and 64.24 days, respectively). It is also found that the C/N ratio of substrate formulas has close correlation with total colonization period, mushroom weight, yield, BE and protein content of mushroom PO and PC.
Agaricales ; Colon ; Fruit ; Ostreidae* ; Pleurotus* ; Saccharum

The influences of temperature and nutritional conditions on the mycelium growth of oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus (PO) and Pleurotus cystidiosus (PC) were investigated in laboratory experiment during the summer season of 2014. The results of the experiment indicated that potato dextrose agar (PDA) and yam dextrose agar (YDA) were the most suitable media for the mycelium growth of oyster mushroom PO while four media (PDA, YDA, sweet potato dextrose agar, and malt extract agar medium) were not significantly different in supporting mycelium growth of oyster mushroom PC. The optimal temperature for mycelium growth of both oyster mushroom species was obtained at 28degrees C. Mycelium growth of oyster mushroom PO was improved by carbon sources such as glucose, molasses, and at 1~5% sucrose concentration, mycelium colony diameter of mushroom PO was achieved the highest value. Whereas glucose, dextrose, and sucrose as carbon sources gave the good mycelium growth of oyster mushroom PC, and at 1~3% sucrose concentration, mycelium colony diameter of PC was achieved the maximum value. Ammonium chloride concentrations at 0.03~0.09% and 0.03~0.05% also gave the greatest values in mycelium colony diameter of mushroom PO and PC. Brown rice was found to be the most favourable for mycelium growth of two oyster mushroom species. In addition, sugarcane residue, acasia sawdust and corn cob were selected as favourable lignocellulosic substrate sources for mycelium growth of both oyster mushrooms.
Agar ; Agaricales ; Ammonium Chloride ; Carbon ; Dioscorea ; Glucose ; Ipomoea batatas ; Molasses ; Mycelium* ; Pleurotus* ; Saccharum ; Seasons ; Solanum tuberosum ; Sucrose ; Zea mays

Sugarcane bagasse modified by polyethylenimine (PEI) and glutaraldehyde (GA) was used as a carrier to immobilize Clostridium acetobutylicum XY16 in the process of butanol production. The effects of chemically modified sugarcane bagasse on batch and repeat-batch fermentations were investigated. Batch fermentation was conducted with an addition of 10 g/L modified sugarcane bagasse and 60 g/L glucose, resulting in a high solvent concentration of 21.67 g/L and productivity of 0.60 g/(L x h) with the treatment of 4 g/L PEI and 1 g/L GA. Compared to the fermentations by free cells and immobilized cells on unmodified sugarcane bagasse, the productivity increased 130.8% and 66.7%, respectively. The fibrous-bed bioreactor also maintained a stable butanol production during repeat-batch fermentations, achieving a maximum productivity of 0.83 g/(L x h) with a high yield of 0.42 g/g.
Batch Cell Culture Techniques ; Bioreactors ; Butanols ; metabolism ; Cells, Immobilized ; Cellulose ; metabolism ; Clostridium acetobutylicum ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Saccharum ; chemistry

China has abundant available marginal land that can be used for cultivation of lignocellulosic energy plants. Saccharum arundinaceum Retz. is a potential energy crop with both high biomass yield and low soil fertility requirements. It can be planted widely as cellulosic ethanol feedstock in southern China. In the present work Saccharum arundinaceum was pretreated by liquid ammonia treatment (LAT) to overcome biomass recalcitrance, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis. The monosaccharide contents (glucose, xylose, and arabinose) of the enzymatic hydrolysate were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Experimental results show that the optimal LAT pretreatment conditions were 130 0C, 2:1 (W/W) ammonia to biomass ratio, 80% moisture content (dry weight basis) and 5 min residence time. Approximately 69.34% glucan and 82.60% xylan were converted after 72 h enzymatic hydrolysis at 1% glucan loading using 15 FPU/(g of glucan) of cellulase. The yields of glucose and xylose were 573% and 1 056% higher than those of the untreated biomass, and the LAT-pretreated substrates obtained an 8-fold higher of total monosaccharide yield than untreated substrates. LAT pretreatment was an effective to increase the enzymatic digestibility of Saccharum arundinaceum compared to acid impregnated steam explosion and similar to that of acid treatment and ammonia fiber expansion treatment.
Ammonia ; chemistry ; Cellulase ; metabolism ; Ethanol ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Hydrolysis ; Monosaccharides ; metabolism ; Saccharum ; chemistry ; metabolism

A repeated batch fermentation system was used to produce ethanol using Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain (NCIM 3640) immobilized on sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) pieces. For comparison free cells were also used to produce ethanol by repeated batch fermentation. Scanning electron microscopy evidently showed that cell immobilization resulted in firm adsorption of the yeast cells within subsurface cavities, capillary flow through the vessels of the vascular bundle structure, and attachment of the yeast to the surface of the sugarcane pieces. Repeated batch fermentations using sugarcane supported biocatalyst were successfully carried out for at least ten times without any significant loss in ethanol production from sugarcane juice and molasses. The number of cells attached to the support increased during the fermentation process, and fewer yeast cells leaked into fermentation broth. Ethanol concentrations (about 72.65~76.28 g/L in an average value) and ethanol productivities (about 2.27~2.36 g/L/hr in an average value) were high and stable, and residual sugar concentrations were low in all fermentations (0.9~3.25 g/L) with conversions ranging from 98.03~99.43%, showing efficiency 91.57~95.43 and operational stability of biocatalyst for ethanol fermentation. The results of the work pertaining to the use of sugarcane as immobilized yeast support could be promising for industrial fermentations.
Adsorption ; Capillaries ; Ethanol ; Fermentation ; Immobilization ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Molasses ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; Saccharum ; Sprains and Strains ; Yeasts

BACKGROUND: Pollen grains have been reported to be present in the Philippine atmosphere but studies regarding their allergenicity are limited. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to profile the sensitization of allergic individuals to selected grass pollen species and to characterize the pollen proteins that may be responsible for this allergenic response. METHODS: The protein profile of the grass pollen extracts from Cynodon dactylon, Saccharum spontaneum, Sporobulus indicus, Chloris barbata, Oryza sativa, Imperata cylindrica, and Zea mays was analyzed by Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis. The specific-IgE profile of the allergic individuals and the allergenic potential of the pollen extracts were evaluated through Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay and IgE immunoblotting. RESULTS: Sensitization of the allergic individuals to the pollen extracts was detected with I. cylindrica and O. sativa to be the most frequently recognized with more that 92% reactivity, whereas for C. dactylon and Z. mays, were found to have less than 25% reactivity. CONCLUSION: Multiple IgE-binding proteins from S. indicus, S. spontaneum and C. barbata that were detected may be responsible for the allergic reactions among Filipino subjects.
Atmosphere ; Cynodon ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoblotting ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunoglobulins ; Oryza ; Philippines ; Poaceae ; Pollen ; Saccharum ; Sodium ; Zea mays