Medium compositions effects on growth kinetics of cordyceps militaris cells using agar plate method

Abstract

Cordyceps militaris is one of the well described mushrooms and has been extensively used in Traditional Chinese Complementary Medicine (TCCM) since many centuries. It has been cultivated naturally or in submerged culture using different types of media. Fungal mycelia contain adenosine, cordycepin, and polysaccharides, which are responsible for its biological activities. Cordycepin is the best-known and most potent mushroom-derived substances possessing anticancer, antitumor and immunomodulating activities. This mushroom characterized by very low growth rate when grown in solid agar medium for inoculum preparation during cultivation process. Thus, there was enormous need to increase the growth rate of this type of mushroom on solid medium to reduce the time of inoculum preparation stage. In this study, optimization of agar cultivation medium for rapid cell growth using modified potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium culture supplemented with specific amount of malt extract (ME) together with yeast extract (YE) was investigated. The mycelial growth diameter was monitored during 21 days of cultivation using two series of experiments of different medium supplements: 2, 4, 6 and 8 g of ME and 6 g of ME with 0, 2, 4 and 6 g of YE to the PDA medium. The obtained results clearly demonstrate that the highest mycelial growth diameter of about 7.5 cm was obtained in PDA medium supplemented with 6 g/L ME and 4 g/L. YE.