Journal of Bioprocessing & Biotechniques

In this research, the effect of process variable on yield (%w/w protein per biomass) of mycoprotein production by Fusarium venenatum ATCC 20334 in surface culture evaluated. A face centered central composite design (FCCD) was employed to determine maximum protein production at suitable initial concentration of date juice (as a carbon and energy source), nitrogen concentration and seed size. Analysis of variance showed that the contribution of a quadratic model was significant for the response. The optimal condition for mycoprotein production contains 20 g/l of date juice, 4.48 g/l of nitrogen source and 12.97% (v/v) of seed size. In these conditions, 46.48 ± 0.2% (w/w) protein was obtained in the dried cell weight. Heat treatment of fungal biomass at 64 -65˚C for 20-30 min reduced the RNA content to an acceptable level for human food grade products. Finally, after reduction of ribonucleic acid contents of mycoprotein, the amino acids and fatty acids profiles of product were determined.