Chitosan from Syncephalastrum racemosum using sugar cane substrates as inexpensive carbon sources

A strain of Syncephalastrum racemosum isolated from herbivores feces was studied for chitosan production using sugar cane substrates, such as juice or molasses, from Northeast Brazil. S. racemosus was batch grown in shake flasks over 5 days using sugar cane juice or molasses as carbon source. The effect of supplementary nitrogen source was studied by supplying medium with yeast extract or ammonium sulphate. The highest yield of the biopolymer (30 mg chitosan. g(-1) sucrose) was obtained using sugar cane juice (21 g sucrose. L-1) plus 0.3% yeast extract. Batch fermentation in a 5-L bioreactor using the same medium, increased the yield to 50 mg chitosan. g(-1) sucrose. Chitosan extracted from S. racemosus cultured in sugar cane juice medium showed a low degree of acetylation with a high D-glucosamine content.