Optimum conditions for n-acetyl glucosamine production from penaeus monodon shrimp shells by solid state fermentation using trichoderma virens

– Chitin is a biodegradable polysaccharide found naturally in shrimp shells and can be derived into glucosamine, which has a wide range of use, especially in the therapeutic field to treat joint damage. N-acetylglucosamine (NAG), one of the forms of glucosamine, can be produced by fermentation of chitin using chitinolytic microorganisms, such as molds or bacteria. Chitinase production by Trichoderma virens has been studied however the NAG production has not been directly evaluated. This research was aimed to determine the optimum conditions (temperature, pH, and incubation period) for NAG production by solid-state fermentation of chitin from Penaeus monodon shells waste using Trichoderma virens. Shrimp shells were sun-dried, demineralized with HCl, and deproteinized with NaOH to produce isolated chitin. Determination of optimum temperature was performed by solid-state fermentation of the isolated chitin at varying incubation temperatures of 25 ^o C, 30 ^o C, 35 ^o C, with a media with controlled pH 6 for 4 days. The optimum temperature was used later to determine the optimum pH (used varying pH of 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0) and incubation period (4, 6 and 8 days). The highest NAG production was achieved from fermentation at 30 ^o C with pH 4.0 for 8 days, resulting in total NAG concentration of 23,413.33 ± 201.039 mg/mL.