939
Vol.53, n. 4: pp. 939-944, July-August 2010
ISSN 1516-8913 Printed in Brazil
BRAZILIAN ARCHIVES OF
BIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY
A N
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
J O U R N A L
Cultivation of Agaricus blazei on Pleurotus spp. Spent
Substrate
Regina Maria Miranda Gern1*, Nelson Libardi Junior2, Gabriela Nunes Patrício3,
Elisabeth Wisbeck2, Mariane Bonatti Chaves2 and Sandra Aparecida Furlan2
1
Departamento de Ciências Biológicas; Universidade da Região de Joinville; C. P.: 246; Campus Universitário s/n;
89201-972; Joinville - SC - Brasil. 2Departamento de Engenharia Ambiental; Universidade da Região de Joinville;
3
Departamento de Química Industrial; Universidade da Região de Joinville; Joinville - SC - Brasil
ABSTRACT
The aim of this work was the use of Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus sajor-caju for the previous lignocellulolytic
decomposition of banana tree leaf straw and the further use of the degraded straw as substrate for the culture of
Agaricus blazei. For optimising the production of A. blazei in terms of yield (Y%) and biological efficiency (BE%),
adjustments to the composition of the substrate were evaluated in a 25 experimental design. The following
components were tested in relation to % of substrate dry mass: urea (1 and 10%), rice bran (10 or 20%) or
ammonium sulphate (0 or 10%), inoculum (10 or 20%) and the casing material (subsoil or burned rice husks). The
best results (79.71 Y% and 6.73 BE%) were found when the substrate containing 10% of rice bran, without
ammonium sulphate, inoculated with 20% and covered with subsoil was used.
Key words: Agro-industrial Wastes, Basidiomycetes, Edible Mushrooms, Fungi, Lignocellulosic Degradation, Solid
State Fermentation
INTRODUCTION
The culture of edible and medicinal mushrooms
has become an attractive economic alternative
over the past few years, mainly due to the increase
in its demand (Chang 1996) and market value. The
characteristic of this culture to add value to the
agricultural and agro-industrial wastes (GundeCimerman 1999) requiring a great amount of
human resource contributes to a distribution of
income and capitalization of the small rural
producers. Commercial culture of edible
mushrooms can make use of a large range of agroindustrial wastes (sawdust, paper, cereal straw,
*
maize, sugar-cane bagasse, coffee pulp, banana
leaves, agave wastes, soy pulp etc) (Patrabansh
and Madan 1997; Obodai et al. 2003; Hernández et
al. 2003; Bonatti et al. 2004; Salmones et al.
2005). The choice of the substrate generally is
determined by the regional availability of the
material to be used. The culture of banana is
significant in some states of Brazil, generating the
straw of the banana tree leaves as waste, which is a
good substrate for P. ostreatus growth (Silveira et
al. 2006; Bonatti et al. 2004). On the other hand,
Agaricus blazei is a secondary decompositor and
cannot grow directly on cellulose and lignin
present in the straw, requiring a previous
Author for correspondence: rgern@univille.br
Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol. v.53 n.4: pp. 939-944, July/Aug 2010
940
Gern, R. M. M. et al.
degradation of the substrate through a composting
process (Oei 1996). Analyses of the banana leaf
straw after its use in the culture of P. ostreatus
(spent substrate) has shown that the degradation of
this lignocellulosic material promoted by the
action of lignocellulolytic enzymes excreted by
Pleurotus makes this spent substrate desirable for
diverse uses, such as animal feed, mulch in
agriculture and substrate for growing fungi
(Zadrazil and Puniya 1995; Kanotra and Mathur
1994; Royse 1992; Silva et al. 2002).
The aim of this work was to evaluate the
possibility of using the P. ostreatus and P. sajorcaju spent substrate to grow Agaricus blazei.
According with Eira and Nascimento (2007)
Brazil is one of the main producers of A. blazei,
recently named as A. brasiliensis (Murrill) S.
Wasser and popularly denominated “Royal-sunAgaricus” in Brazil and Himematsutake in Japan.
The growth of this mushroom started in Brazil in
the 1990s, raising great interest in the Asian and
North American markets due to its medicinal
properties, especially its anti-oncogenic activity
that adds a great value to this species.
Adjustments in the composition of the spent
substrate of P. ostreatus, such as the source and
the concentration of the organic and inorganic
nitrogen, the inoculum rate and the casing material
were evaluated in this work in order to enhance the
production of A. blazei in terms of yield and
biological efficiency.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Microorganisms
Pleurotus ostreatus DSM 1833, Pleurotus sajorcaju CCB 019 and A. blazei (a commercial grain
spawn supplied by Fazenda Guirra - São PauloBrazil), were used in this work.
Experimental design
Table 1 shows the 25 experimental design that was
performed to evaluate the influence of five factors
on biological efficiency (BE%) and yield (Y%) of
A. blazei: the inoculum rate (10% at the minimum
level (-), 20% at the maximum level (+) and 15%
at central point), the concentration of inorganic
nitrogen (0% of ammonium sulphate at the
minimum level (-), 10% at the maximum level (+)
and 5% at central point), the source of organic
nitrogen (rice bran at the minimum level, urea at
the maximum level and the absence of organic
nitrogen at the central point), the concentration of
organic nitrogen (10% of rice bran or 1% of urea
at the minimum level, 20% of rice bran or 10% of
urea at the maximum level and 0% of both at
central point) and the casing material (burned rice
husk at the minimum level, subsoil at the
maximum level and a mix of 50% of both at
central point). Percentages were calculated on
substrate dry mass basis. The experiments were
carried out in eight replicates and three values
were chosen using the Dixon statistical treatment
(Rorabacher 1991) for calculating the average
value. The experimental design was analysed by
the statistical program STATISTICA®6.0.
Spent substrate production
P. ostreatus or P. sajor-caju were grown in banana
leaf straw according to the method described by
Bonatti et al. (2004). After the second flush, the
spent straw was dried in an oven at 90ºC for 24h
and stored at room temperature.
A. blazei production
The spent substrate was immersed in water for 12h
and, after that the excess water was removed. The
wet straw was supplemented with CaCO3 (for
adjusting the pH close to neutral) and with the
nitrogen source (urea, rice bran or ammonium
sulphate). One hundred grams (dry mass basis) of
supplemented straw were conditioned in polyetilen
bags and autoclaved at 1 atm for 1h. The sterilized
substrate was inoculated with 10 or 20% of the A.
blazei commercial grain spawn in 10x20x15 cm
flasks and incubated in a room with controlled
temperature (25ºC) and relative humidity (8090%). After a period of approximately 25 days,
when the substrate was completely colonized with
the fungal mycelium, the bags were opened and
covered with about 8cm of the casing material
(subsoil or burned rice husk). About 40 days after
casing, pinning was observed. The harvest was
carried out when the mushroom was almost open.
The fruiting bodies were weighed before and after
24 h of dehydration at 40ºC. The experiments were
evaluated in terms of yield (Y% = mushroom fresh
weight*100/substrate dry weight) and biological
efficiency
(BE%
=
mushroom
dry
weight*100/substrate dry weight).
Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol. v.53 n.4: pp. 939-944, July/Aug 2010
Cultivation of Agaricus blazei on Pleurotus
941
Table 1 - 25 Experimental design.
Factors
Inoculum rate
Ammonium sulphate
Source of organic nitrogen
Organic nitrogen
concentration
Casing material
Minimum level (-)
10% (dm)
0% (dm)
Rice bran
10% (dm) rice bran and 1%
(dm) urea
Burned rice husk
Level
Central Point
15% (dm)
5% (dm)
Burned rice husk/ Subsoil
Maximum level (+)
20% (dm)
10% (dm)
Urea
20% (dm) rice bran
and 10% (dm) urea
Subsoil
dm = substrate dry mass.
Table 2 - Biological efficiency (BE%) and yield (Y%) for A blazei grown on 33 different conditions involving
substrate formulation, inoculum concentration and casing material (average of triplicates).
EXP
INOC(%)a AS (%)b ON(%)c
CASINGd
ONSe
Y (%)
BE (%)
1
10
0
10
Burned rice husk
Rice bran
4.18±0.46
39.84±5.93
2
20
0
10
Burned rice husk
Rice bran
55.66±7.46
5.90±0.58
3
10
10
10
Burned rice husk
Rice bran
47.64±1.50
5.56±0.21
2.86±0.13
4
20
10
10
Burned rice husk
Rice bran
29.54±2.97
5
10
0
20
Burned rice husk
Rice bran
0
0
6
20
0
20
Burned rice husk
Rice bran 27.81±11.39 4.33±0.94
7
10
10
20
Burned rice husk
Rice bran
31.66±2.49
4.57±0.31
8
20
10
20
Burned rice husk
Rice bran
26.16±1.07
3.80±0.08
9
10
0
10
Subsoil
Rice bran
41.98±2.76
6.26±0.19
6.73±0.17
10
20
0
10
Subsoil
Rice bran
79.71±2.07
11
10
10
10
Subsoil
Rice bran
40.05±2.66
3.99±0.10
6.11±0.06
12
20
10
10
Subsoil
Rice bran
42.53±1.85
13
10
0
20
Subsoil
Rice bran
39.92±0.09
4.24±0.30
14
20
0
20
Subsoil
Rice bran
48.76±5.08
6.73±0.04
15
10
10
20
Subsoil
Rice bran
75.97±2.27
6.25±0.24
16
20
10
20
Subsoil
Rice bran
26.69±4.42
3.03±0.48
17
10
0
1
Burned rice husk
Urea
24.02 ± 2.51 2.46 ± 0.26
18
20
0
1
Burned rice husk
Urea
11.13 ± 1.13 1.47 ± 1.47
19
10
10
1
Burned rice husk
Urea
15.44 ± 1.4 2.26 ± 0,21
20
20
10
1
Burned rice husk
Urea
0
0
21
10
0
10
Burned rice husk
Urea
0
0
22
20
0
10
Burned rice husk
Urea
0
0
23
10
10
10
Burned rice husk
Urea
0
0
24
20
10
10
Burned rice husk
Urea
0
0
25
10
0
1
Subsoil
Urea
19.57 ± 4.08 2.19 ± 0.28
26
20
0
1
Subsoil
Urea
28.02 ± 11.7 2.47 ± 1.48
27
10
10
1
Subsoil
Urea
15.36 ± 0.78 2.27 ± 0.10
28
20
10
1
Subsoil
Urea
6.87 ± 2.23 1.57 ± 0.27
29
10
0
10
Subsoil
Urea
0
0
30
20
0
10
Subsoil
Urea
0
0
31
10
10
10
Subsoil
Urea
0
0
32
20
10
10
Subsoil
Urea
0
0
Burned rice husk/
33 (CP)
15
5
0
19.36 ± 5.12 3.98 ± 1.07
Subsoil(1:1)
a
d
b
e
INOC – Inoculum rate
AS – ammonium sulphate concentration
c
ON – organic nitrogen concentration source.
CASING – casing material
ONS- organic nitrogen source
Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol. v.53 n.4: pp. 939-944, July/Aug 2010
942
Gern, R. M. M. et al.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Table 2 shows the results obtained for the
biological efficiency and yield using different
conditions performed in accordance with the
experimental design for A. blazei culture. Among
the conditions evaluated, the one promoting the
best results in terms of A. blazei biological
efficiency (6.73%) and yield (79.71%) was
composed of 20% inoculum, 10% rice bran,
without ammonium sulphate, using subsoil as
casing material. Experiments that used 10% of
urea as nitrogen source (21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31
and 32) showed no growth of A. blazei (BE=0 and
Y=0) indicating inhibition by high concentrations
of urea. Experiments in which rice bran and
subsoil were used showed, in general, higher
values of BE and Y, but the choice of the best
condition was only possible based on statistical
analysis. The statistical treatment of the values
obtained for BE and Y with the different substrate
formulations enabled the evaluation of the
individual effects of the studied variables over
these parameters, as well as the interactive effects
between the factors. The results (Table 3) showed
that the source of organic nitrogen promoted the
highest effect over the yield and biological
efficiency. In this case, the use of rice bran instead
of urea led to better results.The concentration of
the organic nitrogen (rice bran) at lower level
(10%) also promoted an increase of BE and Y.
According to Eira (2003), the substrates used for
growing A. blazei showed C: N ratios varying
from 30:1 to 37:1. Aiming to provide the culture
of A. blazei with the right levels of nitrogen and
carbon, the spent substrate of Pleurotus was
supplemented with rice bran.
Table 3 – Estimated effects of evaluated factors on the biological efficiency (BE%) and yield (Y%) of Agaricus
blazei.
Estimated effects
BE %
Y%
1. Inoculum rate
-0.01±0.21
-0.53±1.64
2. Ammonium sulphate
-3.65a±1.64
-0.22±0.21
3. Organic nitrogen concentration
-1.35a ±0.21
-13.73a ±1.64
4. Casing material
0.96a ±0.21
9.78a ±1.64
a
5. Source of organic nitrogen
-3.75 ±0.21
-33.29a ±1.64
a
1 by 2
-1.05 ±0.21
-11.25a ±1.64
1 by 3
0.24±0.21
-1.74±1.64
1 by 4
0.06±0.21
0.49±1.64
1 by 5
-0.44a ±0.21
-3.00±1.64
2 by 3
0.64a ±0.21
9.15a ±1.64
2 by 4
-0.33±0.21
-2.66±1.64
2 by 5
-0.07±0.21
-1.97±1.64
3 by 4
0.11±0.21
3.44a ±1.64
3 by 5
-0.40±0.21
-1.23±1.64
4 by 5
-0.68a ±0.21
-7.38a ±1.64
1x2x3
-0.43a ±0.21
-0.18±1.64
1x2x4
0.29±0.21
-2.54±1.64
1x2x5
0.78a ±0.21
8.82a ±1.64
1x3x4
-0.72a ±0.21
-8.34a ±1.64
1x3x5
0.21±0.21
5.27a ±1.64
1x4x5
0.28±0.21
3.03±1.64
2x3x4
-0.27±0.21
0.66±1.64
2x3x5
-0.35±0.21
-3.53a ±1.64
2x4x5
0.42±0.21
1.94±1.64
3x4x5
-0.39±0.21
-5.83a ±1.64
a
Statistically significant values
Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol. v.53 n.4: pp. 939-944, July/Aug 2010
Cultivation of Agaricus blazei on Pleurotus
Analysis of rice bran carried out by Dias et al.
(1994) showed 13.30 g% protein, 7.0 to 11.4 g%
fibre and 34.0 to 62.0 g% carbohydrates. Thus,
rice bran represents a good nitrogen source and an
easily metabolized carbon source for this fungus.
An inhibitory effect over the growth of A. blazei
was observed when the concentration of urea was
maintained in the higher level. According to Eira
(2003), substrates with high initial nitrogen
content and low metabolizable carbon content,
have a higher lost of ammonia by volatilisation.
Consequently, the content of nitrogen incorporated
in the fungi biomass is lower.
Table 3 also shows that, although the isolated
effect of the inoculum rate over BE and Y was not
statistically significant, when the interaction
effects over the factors were evaluated, better
results were always found when 20% inoculum
was used.
The interaction effect between the ammonium
sulphate and the other factors was also statistically
significant. In this case, the absence of this salt
promoted better results for BE and Y.
The casing material is an important factor. The
choice of burned rice husk as one of the evaluated
factors was induced by its physical-chemical
characteristics. This material, which has been used
with great success in the vegetative propagation of
plants, has 150 g/l dry density, 53.9% water
retention capacity, pH of 7.4 in water and is light
and porous, allowing good aeration and draining,
as well as being free of noxious plants, nematodes
and pathogens. Furthermore, this material does not
need chemical treatment for sterilization, as it is
carbonized (Souza 1993). Although these
properties supported the desirable characteristics
for a good casing material, visual analysis, after a
period of daily irrigations, showed that it became a
compact mass that would probably hinder the
substrate aeration. This explained the low values
of BE and Y obtained with burned rice husk when
compared to those obtained with subsoil,
traditionally used by mushroom producers.
The results of the statistical treatment showed that
the best condition was that composed of 20%
inoculum, 10% rice bran, without ammonium
sulphate and covered with subsoil. This substrate
formulation enabled a biological efficiency of
6.73%±0.17 and a yield of 79.71%±2.07. Eira
(2003) reported a lower yield of A. blazei
943
(32.36%) using sugar cane bagasse as substrate.
However, Iwade and Mizuno (1997) using rice
straw, organic fertilizers and rice bran showed
results close to 15 kg fresh mushrooms/m2
substrate. The results showed that the cultivation
of A. blazei on Pleurotus spp spent substrate was
technically viable opening a new opportunity for
the mushroom producers, by enabling serial
cultivation of two kinds of mushrooms, Pleurotus
spp. and A. blazei with high added value.
The possibility of using a residue from the agro
industry (banana tree leaves) for the cultivation of
Pleurotus and to reuse the spent substrate for A.
blazei culture adds value to the generated residue
in the process, contributing to the development of
agro business sustainability.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank the Federal Research
Council of Brazil (CNPq), the Foundation of
Research of Santa Catarina (FAPESC) and the
University of the Region of Joinville –
UNIVILLE, for their financial support.
RESUMO
O cultivo de fungos comestíveis e medicinais
utilizando resíduos da agroindústria vem se
apresentando como uma alternativa econômica
para o pequeno produtor rural, favorecendo a
agricultura familiar do nordeste catarinense. Este
trabalho avaliou o fungo Pleurotus para a
decomposição lignocelulolítica de palha de folhas
de bananeira e a utilização da palha residual como
substrato para o cultivo de Agaricus blazei.
Ajustes na composição do substrato residual de
Pleurotus, tais como o tipo e a concentração da
fonte de nitrogênio, a porcentagem de inóculo e a
camada de cobertura, foram avaliadas. O substrato
residual que mais favoreceu a produção de A.
blazei em Eficiência Biológica (6,73%),
Rendimento (79,71%) e menor tempo para
emissão do primeiro primórdio (27 dias) foi o
substrato residual de P. ostreatus inoculado com
20% de inóculo (ms), 10% de farelo de arroz (ms),
sem sulfato de amônio e utilizando terra de
subsolo como camada de cobertura.
Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol. v.53 n.4: pp. 939-944, July/Aug 2010
944
Gern, R. M. M. et al.
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Received: June 16, 2008;
Revised: October 02, 2008;
Accepted: October 21, 2009.