Transformation of mixtures of olive mill stone waste and oat bran or Lathyrus clymenum pericarps into high added value products using solid state fermentation

The main objective of this study concerns the bioconversion of agro-industrial wastes into high added value products, such as proteinaceous animal feed, using Solid State Fermentation process (SSF). For this purpose, the Olive Mill Stone Waste (OMSW) which is known to contain low amounts of proteins and a high concentration of anti-nutritional substances was used as substrate. Subsequently, OMSW was fermented with Oat Bran (OB) or Lathyrus clymenum pericarp (LP) in proportions varying from 10 %w/w to 30 %w/w, applying SSF process initiated by Pleurotus ostreatus utilizing latter's secreted enzymes for their degradation. The respective results indicated that the addition of 30 %w/w of OB, resulted in a 39% increase of the protein content at the end of fermentation (Day 21). In addition, we observed a 5-fold increase of 1,3-1,6 beta-glucan content and a simultaneous decrease of unwanted lignin of 24%. The addition of 20 %w/w of LP afforded, at the end of fermentation (Day 21), an increased protein content of 57%, a 3-fold increase in 1,3-1,6 beta-glucans and a decrease in lignin concentration of 13%. These findings demonstrate the potential of the LP utilization by using SSF process, for the production of high nutritional value dietary supplements for animal feed. This endeavor constitutes the first literature report for the utilization of the agro-industrial waste LP. The developed methodology herein is considered as crucial for the circular economy since it refers to the reuse of agro-industrial wastes and the production of a high added-value product.