A wild fungal strain of Aspergillus terreus, labeled as PM3, was isolated by using the Candida albicans bioassay and confirmed by 18S r DNA analyses. Lovastatin was produced by submerged and solid state fermentations. Of the 30 isolated fungal strains, 11 showed lovastatin production with Aspergillus terreus PM3 being the best with a yield of 240 mg/L at the 10th day of submerged fermentation. Carboxymethylcellulose had a stimulatory effect on lovastatin production. It restricted uncontrolled filamentous growth, induced pellet formation and, thereby, improved lovastatin yield. In solid state fermentation (SSF), of the agro wastes from five crops (bran of wheat and rice, husks of red gram and soybean, and green gram straw), wheat bran showed maximum lovastatin production (12.5 mg/g of dry substrate) at pH 7.1 and a temperature of 30±2°C. Development of a lovastatin production process based on wheat bran as a substrate in SSF is economically attractive as it is a cheap and readily available raw material in agriculture-based countries.

Abstract:- This article reports the production of high levels of lovastatin from a new wild strain of Aspergillus terreus by solid state fermentation (SSF) using agrowastes from four crops (wheat bran, bran of Cajanus cajan, Phaseolus mungo, and Glycine max). When used as the sole source for growth in SSF, wheat bran showed maximum lovastatin production followed by that of Glycine max, P. mungo and C. cajan. Lovastatin production was maximum (230 μg per gram of dry solid) at pH 7.1 and temperature 30±2°C. A 96-h fermentation time under aerobic condition with moisture content of 80%, 30 min of cooking time and 2 -3.5mm range of particle size in SSF appeared optimal for lovastatin production. The study suggests that choosing an appropriate substrate when coupled with process level optimization improves lovastatin production markedly. Developing lovastatin production process based on wheat bran as a substrate in SSF is economically attractive as it is a cheap and readily available raw material in agriculture-based countries.