Full Length Research Paper

Response surface modeling for g-aminobutyric acid production by Monascus pilosus GM100 under solid-state fermentation

Bai-Shen Sun^1,2, Li-Ping Zhou¹*, Xiao-Qin Jia² and Chang-Keun Sung²

¹Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.

²Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Taejon 305-764, Korea.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: njyjs@zjut.edu.cn. Tel: +86-571-8832-0571. Fax: +86-571-8849-1541.

Accepted 14 November, 2008

The physicochemical analysis of sun dried mesocarp of fruits of Terminalia catappa and Hyphaene thebaica was investigated. It is aimed at sourcing alternative local raw materials that contain required nutritional composition for production of livestock feed. This study revealed that the mesocarp of the fruits of T. catappa and H. thebaica contain 8.10- 12.65% ash, 84.93- 89.25% carbohydrate, 0.37- 0.95% oil, 238- 316 mg/g glucose contents and anti-nutritional factor value of 1.30 mg/g for T. catappa and 8.30 mg/g for H. thebaica tannin content. The protein contents of 0.1 and 0.01% are very low but their calorific values of 3434.5 and 3655.9 kcal/kg for T. catappa and H. thebaica, respectively, are high. The metal ion concentrations of Ca (45.58-245.10 mg/100 g), Mg (96.35-236.45 mg/100 g), Fe (5.14- 47.96 mg/100 g), Cu (0.10-0.38) and Zn (0.45 -0.62) in these mesocarp seemed adequate enough to provide metal ions for biochemical activities of livestock if the mesocarp of the fruits are used in livestock feed formulation. In addition, the presence of low level of tannin may form the basis for anti–inflammatory activity in the feed.

Key words: Livestock, feed formulation, metal ions, macronutrients, Terminalia catappa, Hyphaene thebaica.