ASSESSMENT OF THE FERMENTATION OF ROSE OIL DISTILLATION WASTEWATER (RODW) BY TRICHODERMA ASPERELLUM SL-45 AS ADDITIONAL STEP FOR FUNGAL BIOMASS PRODUCTION, TO THE RODW PHENOLICS EXTRACTION
MILA RUSANOVA1,2*, KRASIMIR RUSANOV1,2, SVETLANA MOMCHILOVA2,3,
TZVETELINA ZAGORCHEVA1,2, YANA EVSTATIEVA2,4, DILYANA NIKOLOVA2,4, IVAN ATANASSOV1,2
1 – Agrobioinstitute, Agricultural Academy, 8 Dragan Tzankov blvd., Sofia 1164, Bulgaria;
2 – BioPharm Lab Complex, Sofia Tech Park JSC, 111 Tsarigradsko Shose blvd., Sofia 1784, Bulgaria;
3 – Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., bl. 9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria;
4 – Faculty of Biology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, BG – 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
*Corresponding author: milagradeva@abv.bg
Keywords: Rose oil distillation wastewater, Trichoderma asperellum SL-45, fermentation, fungal biomass production, phenolics composition
Abstract: The industrial production of rose oil from Rosa damascena flowers by water steam distillation results in generation of large quantities of phenolics - rich rose oil distillation wastewater (RODW). Trichoderma asperellum SL-45 is a rhizospheric micromycete strain with high potential for application in soil and potting substrate improvement, as well as xylanases and cellulases production. The present study assesses the RODW fermentation capacity of T. asperellum SL-45 and the impact of fermentation on RODW phenolics composition. The in vitro shake flask culture studies showed high growth rate of T. asperellum SL-45, without the need for changes in RODW parameters and composition prior cultivation. Further analysis showed only minor modifications of the RODW phenolics composition following T. asperellum SL-45 fermentation. The results suggest that T. asperellum SL-45 fermentation of RODW could be efficiently applied as additional step for fungal biomass production prior or following the RODW phenolics extraction and valorization. The possibilities of using RODW fermentation for larger scale T. asperellum SL-45 biomass production are discussed.