Date pomace valorization for sustainable mushroom mycelial biomass and bioactive compound production using Taguchi optimization
- 1Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- 2Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, National Water and Energy Center, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abstract
IntroductionDate pomace is an agro-industrial by-product with potential for valorization as a nutrient source for medicinal mushroom cultivation. This study optimized submerged mycelial cultivation of Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane) and Trametes versicolor (Turkey Tail) using date pomace extract (DPE) as a partial replacement for conventional culture medium.MethodsA Taguchi L27 experimental design was employed to evaluate the effects of pH, temperature, DPE: PDB ratio, aeration, and incubation time on mycelial cultivation. The nutritional composition, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and FTIR profiles of the resulting mycelial biomass were evaluated and compared with those of the corresponding fruiting bodies.ResultsThe optimized conditions within the tested experimental domain were pH 5.0, 24 °C, a 50:50 DPE: PDB ratio, static cultivation, and 5 days of incubation. Under these conditions, H. erinaceus produced protein-rich mycelial biomass, whereas T. versicolor accumulated higher levels of polysaccharides and demonstrated stronger antioxidant activity. T. versicolor also exhibited higher total phenolic (368.81 mg/100 g) and flavonoid (70.54 mg/100 g) contents, consistent with its lower DPPH and ABTS IC₅₀ values. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of characteristic polysaccharide- and protein-associated functional groups in both species. The optimized mycelial biomass retained nutritional and bioactive characteristics comparable to the corresponding fruiting bodies while exhibiting significantly higher protein content.DiscussionThe findings demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating DPE as a partial replacement for conventional potato dextrose broth in submerged cultivation while producing nutritionally enriched medicinal mushroom mycelial biomass. This approach offers a promising strategy for date pomace valorization and supports circular bioeconomy initiatives and sustainable production of functional mushroom-derived ingredients.
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BibTeX
@article{francis2026date,
title = {{Date pomace valorization for sustainable mushroom mycelial biomass and bioactive compound production using Taguchi optimization}},
author = {Dali V. Francis and Malu Kishorkumar and Pratheesh P. Thanka and Elke G. Neumann and Shyam S. Kurup},
journal = {Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fsufs.2026.1946242},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1946242},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Date pomace valorization for sustainable mushroom mycelial biomass and bioactive compound production using Taguchi optimization
AU - Dali V. Francis
AU - Malu Kishorkumar
AU - Pratheesh P. Thanka
AU - Elke G. Neumann
AU - Shyam S. Kurup
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
DO - 10.3389/fsufs.2026.1946242
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1946242
AB - IntroductionDate pomace is an agro-industrial by-product with potential for valorization as a nutrient source for medicinal mushroom cultivation. This study optimized submerged mycelial cultivation of Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane) and Trametes versicolor (Turkey Tail) using date pomace extract (DPE) as a partial replacement for conventional culture medium.MethodsA Taguchi L27 experimental design was employed to evaluate the effects of pH, temperature, DPE: PDB ratio, aeration, and incubation time on mycelial cultivation. The nutritional composition, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and FTIR profiles of the resulting mycelial biomass were evaluated and compared with those of the corresponding fruiting bodies.ResultsThe optimized conditions within the tested experimental domain were pH 5.0, 24 °C, a 50:50 DPE: PDB ratio, static cultivation, and 5 days of incubation. Under these conditions, H. erinaceus produced protein-rich mycelial biomass, whereas T. versicolor accumulated higher levels of polysaccharides and demonstrated stronger antioxidant activity. T. versicolor also exhibited higher total phenolic (368.81 mg/100 g) and flavonoid (70.54 mg/100 g) contents, consistent with its lower DPPH and ABTS IC₅₀ values. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of characteristic polysaccharide- and protein-associated functional groups in both species. The optimized mycelial biomass retained nutritional and bioactive characteristics comparable to the corresponding fruiting bodies while exhibiting significantly higher protein content.DiscussionThe findings demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating DPE as a partial replacement for conventional potato dextrose broth in submerged cultivation while producing nutritionally enriched medicinal mushroom mycelial biomass. This approach offers a promising strategy for date pomace valorization and supports circular bioeconomy initiatives and sustainable production of functional mushroom-derived ingredients.
SN - 2571-581X
ER -