Background:

Lentinula edodes is an edible mushroom of economic importance in Mexico, it produces a cholesterol-reducing compound called eritadenine, which has been obtained from the fruiting body and fungus mycelium. Its production has been evaluated in submerged fermentation, but the solid-state fermentation has not been evaluated.

Objective:

Determine if solid state fermentation of L. edodes improves the eritadenine production.

Methods:

Solid state fermentation was performed using polyurethane foam and an enriched medium to evaluate eritadenine production, growth kinetic and the substrate consumption; the eritadenine was detected by HPLC-DAD at 260 nm.

Results and conclusions:

The maximum biomass was 3.6 ± 0.11 g/L, with a 0.015 ± 0.002 h-1 specific growth rate. The eritadenine was produced in the biomass and released to the culture medium; at 168 h incubation it was increased 2.8 and 2.4 times, respectively. A proportional relationship was found between the eritadenine and biomass production. There was not relationship between substrate consumption and eritadenine production. Solid state fermentation can be an alternative to produce and recover eritadenine.