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Submerged Fermentation of Medicinal Fungus Cordyceps sinensis for Production of Biologically Active Mycelial Biomass and Exopolysaccharides

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Production of Biomass and Bioactive Compounds Using Bioreactor Technology

Abstract

Cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps) sinensis, the Chinese caterpillar fungus or Cordyceps in brief, is an important medicinal fungus in Chinese herbal medicine with a wide range of health benefits and bioactivities. Because wild C. sinensis fungus (in the form of insect caterpillar-fungal fruiting body complex) is very expensive and rare in nature, mycelial fermentation has become the main source of C. sinensis fungal materials. Liquid or submerged fermentation of fungal mycelia has been widely exploited for large-scale production of C. sinensis mycelium biomass and exopolysaccharides (EPS). This chapter will give a brief introduction of the biological characteristics of the C. sinensis fungus and its medicinal functions and applications, and then mainly review the conditions and characteristics of C. sinensis mycelial culture for the production of mycelial biomass and EPS in shake-flasks and stirred-tank fermenters. In addition to the relevant studies reported by other research groups, this chapter will summarize the major findings from the studies by our own group with the Cs-HK1 fungus, including the fluid transport properties and the process parameters from small laboratory to large-scale industrial fermenters, the problems in separation and recovery of mycelial biomass and EPS from the viscous fermentation liquid, and the isolation, purification and molecular properties of polysaccharides.

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Abbreviations

Cs:

Cordyceps sinensis

DO:

Dissolved oxygen

EPS:

Exopolysaccharide

MW:

Molecular weight

MWCO:

Molecular weight cut-off

PE:

Peptone

PS:

Polysaccharide

PSP:

Polysaccharide-protein complex

TKN:

Total Kjeldahl nitrogen

YE:

Yeast extract

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Hong Kong Government UGC (GRF Projects PolyU 5036/10P and PolyU 5033/11P) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Jing-Kun Yan & Jian-Yong Wu

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  1. Jing-Kun Yan
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  2. Jian-Yong Wu
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Correspondence to Jian-Yong Wu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticultural Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

    Kee-Yoeup Paek

  2. Department of Botany, Karnatak University, Dharwad, India

    Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy

  3. School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Jian-Jiang Zhong

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Yan, JK., Wu, JY. (2014). Submerged Fermentation of Medicinal Fungus Cordyceps sinensis for Production of Biologically Active Mycelial Biomass and Exopolysaccharides. In: Paek, KY., Murthy, H., Zhong, JJ. (eds) Production of Biomass and Bioactive Compounds Using Bioreactor Technology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9223-3_5

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