Keo Intabon

Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate and Agar Improve Physical Properties of Plastic Films Made with Soy Curd Residue Protein

Soy curd waste, okara of Japanese soy curd industry, was once an important daily food, but modernization in life style has reduced its status to a normal industrial waste. The waste protein content is still high. Using the waste to produce biodegradable films substituting the petroleum plastics means adding high economic value to it. Since the waste contains few amino acids, it was experienced that more glycerol was needed for it to reach an acceptable elasticity. Tensile strength and elongation of this protein film were weaker than those of soy protein film. However, the physical properties of okara protein film can be improved to those of a commercial polyethylene film made with CaCO3 if sodium dodecyl sulfate were added. However, the addition oppressed tensile strength and makes the produced film too elastic. This deformation could be adjusted by the addition of agar.

Fluctuation of ß-D-Glucans and other Metabolites

Agaricus blazei Murill mushroom has high content of s-D-glucans that activate our immunity. It grows well on sugarcane bagasse compost. Hence, an effective production of its mycelium, the glucans and other metabolites might be expected with the bagasse extract added into the culture solution of the mycelium. In this study, such addition was tested using A. blazei mycelium of ATCC stock, and Norin 1 mycelium separated from a Japanese A. blazei mushroom fruit were used. The extract addition stimulated mycelium pellet numbers of both strains. However, the amino acid contents in both strains were clearly decreased by the addition due to mycelium growth. Based on the above results, the extract is practically used for a mass production of an A. blazei mycelium strain to produce functional food additives in a production plant.

Development of Functional Foodstaffs Operated by a Liquid Bioreactor of an Edible Fungus

In this study, the evaluation as functional foodstuffs of mycelium and used culture solution obtained from liquid culture of mycelium of Agaricus blazei Murill mushroom was examined. The liquid culture of mycelium was operated using a bioreactor having effective volume of 1L. The maximum duration of culture was about 48 hours after the inoculation. Both harvested mycelium and used liquid culture possessed significant˜-D-glucan content, and the ethanol-extracted product from the harvested mycelium was proved to be highly effective on anti- allergic activity of suppressing the physiological activities of hyaluronidase and ˜-hexosaminidase releasing from rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells stimulated by antigen stimulation. Neurite outgrowth and acetylcholinesterase of rat pheochromocytoma cell line PC12 were also activated by the mycelial extract with hot water and ethanol.

A Scale Up and Operation Problems for a Liquid Bioreactor of an Edible Fungus (Mushroom Agaricus blazei Murill.)

Bacillus species was the most critical contaminant for our liquid bioreactor in operation to produce filamentous mycelium of Agaricus blazei Murill. The bacterium was present in level of ×10 5 in the autoclaved culture medium just before seeding. Some lots fertilized with 4L of spawn having mycelium biomass of about 4.752g/L were contaminated. Contamination risk was overcome however by doubling the spawn volume. The relationship between Bacillus count and growth behavior of 3 strains of filamentous mycelia used in laboratory cultures was described.