Inoculum production of Monascus purpureus with Chenopodium quinoa in submerged culture

Fermentation in solid substrate is widely used in the production of inoculum in fungi, but the drawback with this technique is that the fungus takes weeks to invade within the substrate, apart from not having full control of the process. For that reason, it is intended to produce an inoculum by submerged culture which produces a greater amount of biomass, with shorter production time. This research employed the fungus Monascus purpureus, which has been widely used in Asian gastronomy due to the properties of its secondary metabolites, and as substrate used Chenopodium quinoa for being rich in proteins and carbohydrates. A volume of 100 mL was used with the following parameters: pH (5.0, 6.0, 7.0), rpm (100, 120, 140) and sodium chloride concentration (0%, 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.10%), having as response variables the N-acetyl glucosamine concentration and the yellow, orange, red hues in the absorbance of 400, 470, 500 nm, respectively. A maximum production of 36.8 mg glucosamine/g dry weight was obtained and the absorbances of 0.789, 0. 977, 0.945 for 400, 470, 500 nm respectively (p<0.05) at the conditions of 0.01% NaCl, pH 6, 120rpm. These results demonstrate that an adequate inoculum can be generated with a considerable amount of mycelium in a reduced space and in a shorter time for future cultures having quinoa as food matrix. Such a substrate allowed the fungus to become adapted, generating a greater propagation in the solid fermentation.