This document discusses fermentation technology and its applications in biotechnology. It describes how fermentation is used to produce various industrial products like metabolites, biomass, recombinant proteins, and modified compounds. Specific examples of products discussed include single-cell proteins from microbes, ergot alkaloids from fungi, and enzymes of pharmaceutical interest. The stages of fermentation for production of ergot alkaloids and enzymes are also summarized.

1. S. PRITHIVIRAJAN., M. Pharm,
Dept. of Pharmacognosy, COP,
Madurai Medical College,
Madurai-20
MEDICINAL PLANT
BIOTECHNOLOGY
M PHARM - PHARMACOGNOSY SEM 2 UNIT 5

2. CONTENTS
Fermentation technology
• Application of Fermentation technology
• Production of ergot aikaloids
• Single cell proteins
• Enzymes of pharmaceutical interest.

3. FERMENTATION TECHNOLOGY
• Fermentation technology is a field which utilizes microorganisms and
enzymes to produce compounds that find use in pharmaceutical, chemical,
energy, material and food industries. Biotechnology can be defined as the
amalgamation of natural sciences and engineering techniques to utilize
organisms, cells and their parts for industrial products and services. Thus,
fermentation is a biotechnological tool that uses microorganisms to produce
several industrial products.
• Fermentation is a very ancient technique that has been in use for thousands
of years. It was used for the first time in the production of beer. Today,
biotechnology has intersected with fermentation technology to create value-
added products such as hormones, enzymes, antibiotics and other
metabolites.

4. Application of Fermentation in Biotechnology
Fermentation technology is widely being used in various industrial products,
such as:
Production of cells or biomass: The fermentation process involves producing
the cells in a large amount that can be used for the extraction of metabolites.
When an inoculum of microorganisms is grown in a properly enriched
production medium, it reaches its maximum growth rate. The biomass obtained
can be downstream to extract the target product.
Production of metabolites: Fermentation technology is used to produce both
primary and derived metabolites from microorganisms. Primary metabolites
are produced in the growth phase of the microorganism, and examples include
ethanol, citric acid, tryptophan, lysine and threonine.
Secondary metabolites are produced by microorganisms during the
stationary phase of their life cycle. Examples of secondary metabolites include
antibiotics like penicillin and bacteriocins.

5. Modification of compounds: Fermentation technology can be applied to alter
the metabolic pathways using cultivation-based or molecular approaches.
Production of recombinant products: Recombinant proteins, vaccines and
hormones can be produced by fermentation that are used widely by
pharmaceutical companies.
SINGLE-CELL PROTEINS
• Single-cell proteins refers to the crude, a refined or edible protein extracted
from pure microbial cultures, dead, or dried cell biomass. They can be used
as a protein supplement for both humans or animals.
• Microorganisms like algae, fungi, yeast, and bacteria have very high protein
content in their biomass. These microbes can be grown using inexpensive
substrates like agricultural waste viz. wood shavings, sawdust, corn cobs etc.
and even human and animal waste.

6. Production of Single-Cell Protein
The production is carried out in the following steps:
1. Selection of suitable strain.
2. Fermentation.
3. Harvesting.
4. Post-harvest treatment.
5. SCP processing for food.
Applications of Single-Cell Protein
• Provides instant energy.
• It is extremely good for healthy eyes and skin.
• Provides the best protein supplemented food for undernourished children.
• Serves as a good source of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, crude fibres, etc.

7. Used in therapeutic and natural medicines for:
• Controlling obesity.
• Lowers blood sugar level in diabetic patients.
• Reducing body weight, cholesterol and stress.
• Prevents accumulation of cholesterol in the body.
Used in Cosmetics products for:
• Maintaining healthy hair.
• Production of different herbal beauty products, like- Biolipstics, herbal
face cream, etc.
Used in Poultry:
• As it serves as an excellent and convenient source of proteins and other
nutrients, it is widely used for feeding cattle, birds, fishes etc.

8. Production of Ergot alkaloids
• Ergot alkaloids are obtained commercially by extracting sclerotia of
Claviceps purpurea parasitizing on rye (Secale cereale Linn) plants. The other
important species of this fungus are C. paspali, C. microcephale, C. miscanthi
and C. syntherismae.
• The alkaloids have also been isolated from certain other fungi and plants. The
most important of these alkaloids are ergometrine and ergotamine.
Fermentation meathod
Three species of Claviceps are currently used in the production of
alkaloids by fermentation.
1. C. fusiformis
2. C. paspali
3. C. purpurea

9. Stages of fermentation

10. • Submerged culture produced about 20mg alkaloid/l
• Strain development and culture medium optimization resulted in a
commercial process which had alkaloid titres of 5g/1
• Inoculum for the production fermenter may be developed from mycelium o
conidiospores.
• The production medium contains an organic acid of the tricarboxylic acid
(TCA) cycle and a carbohydrate, such as citrate and sucrose, the specific
combination depending upon the target alkaloid.
• In later stages, the organic acid stimulates the necessary metabolic change
from the TCA cycle to the glyoxylate cycle.
• Alkaloid production, like that of many secondary metabolites, exhibits
phosphate regulation.

11. • Primary metabolism pathway occurs at the growth phase and is also
known as trophophase while the secondary metabolism pathway
occurs at the stationary phase and is also known as idiophase.
• The synthesis is delayed until the medium phosphate has been utilized
during the trophophase and the culture enters the idiophase.
• However, phosphate inhibition can be overcome by addition of
tryptophan or a tryptophan analogue, which act as inducers and
precursors.

12. Enzymes
Enzymes are generally made of protein molecules except ribozymes.
Enzyme molecules are highly specific to the substrates and convert them into
products. They are active only in certain range of temperature and pH.
Enzymes are classified depending on the compound they act on. Few of
the common types of enzymes include the following.
Proteases: Breaks down protein.
Lipases: Breaks down lipids into glycerol and fatty acids.
Amylases: Breaks down starch in simple sugars.
Cellulases: Breaks down cellulose.

13. There are six different types of enzymes and are mainly categorised
into different groups based on their functions.