Potential of Oil Palm Trunk Sap as a Novel Inexpensive Renewable Carbon Feedstock for Polyhydroxyalkanoate Biosynthesis and as a Bacterial Growth Medium |
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| Authors: | Bhadravathi Eswara Lokesh Zubaidah Aimi Abdul Hamid Takamitsu Arai Akihiko Kosugi Yoshinori Murata Rokiah Hashim Othman Sulaiman Yutaka Mori Kumar Sudesh |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Ecobiomaterial Research Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia;2. School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia;3. Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), Owashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Utilization of cheap renewable carbon feedstock for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production not only brings down its production cost but also ensures sustainability. The scope of this study was to evaluate the potential of sap extracted from felled oil palm trunk (OPT) as a novel inexpensive renewable carbon source for PHA production. OPT sap was found to be nutritionally rich and contained various fermentable sugars (5.5% w/v) as its major constituent. Termite gut isolate, Bacillus megaterium MC1 grew profoundly in mineral medium with OPT sap as carbon source and a cell density of 10.9 g/L was attained after 16 h of cultivation in shake flask cultures. A maximum poly‐3‐hydroxybutyrate [P(3HB)] content (% cell dry weight; CDW) of 30 wt% and a P(3HB) concentration of 3.28 g/L was recorded. Additionally, OPT sap extracted from younger tree trunks with prolonged storage had higher sugar content (10.8% w/v) and, when used as a growth medium without the addition of any nutrients, supported bacterial growth comparable to commercially available media. |
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| Keywords: | Bacillus megaterium MC1 Biomass Carbon feedstock Oil palm industry waste |
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