Submerged fermentation ofGinkgo bilobaseed powder usingEurotium cristatumfor the development of ginkgo seeds fermented products

BACKGROUND Ginkgo bilobaseeds are well known for the significant curative effects on relieving cough and asthma. However, the development of products from ginkgo seeds still falls behind at present, resulting in a great waste of ginkgo seeds' resource. In this work, submerged fermentation of ginkgo seed powder usingEurotium cristatumwas studied to investigate its feasibility as a new processing method. RESULTS To promote the growth ofE. cristatum, the optimum fermentation medium was 80.0 g L(-1)of ginkgo seed powder with addition of 5.0 g L(-1)calcium chloride (CaCl2), 4.0 g L(-1)magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), 1.25 g L(-1)zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) and 0.65 g L(-1)iron(II) sulfate (FeSO4). The optimum fermentation conditions were pH 5.8 +/- 0.1, inoculum size 5.1 x 10(6) CFU mL(-1), liquid medium volume 100 mL in 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask and fermentation 4 days. Through fermentation, the production of lovastatin in fermentation broth could reach up to 32.97 +/- 0.17 mu g mL(-1)and the total antioxidant capacity was improved by more than two-fold. In addition, 40.15% of the ginkgotoxin in ginkgo seed powder was degraded while the entire degradation of ginkgolic acids was obtained. Moreover, fermented ginkgo seed powder suspension presented pleasant fragrances, and the activities of amylase and protease were enhanced to 11.30 +/- 0.10 U mL(-1)and 23.01 +/- 0.20 U mL(-1), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Submerged fermentation usingE. cristatumcould significantly enhance the functional value and safety of ginkgo seed powder, and had great potential to become a novel processing method for the development of ginkgo seeds fermented products. (c) 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

Automated summary

Submerged fermentation using E. cristatum can significantly enhance the functional value and safety of ginkgo seed powder, and has great potential to become a novel processing method for the development of ginkgo seeds fermented products.