Bioconversion of Ferulic Acid into High Value Metabolites by White Rot Fungi Isolated from Fruiting-Body of the Polypore Mushroom

The trend toward natural flavors has led to extensive research in this area. In the biotechnological process, ferulic acid was commonly used as a substrate and employs microorganisms as a biocatalyst. In this study, the potential of three white rot fungi- Ganoderma mastoporum, Ganoderma australe and Trametes pavonia - isolated from the fruiting-body of the polypore mushroom and two strains of commercial mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum and Schizophyllum commune ) were investigated for their ability to convert ferulic acid into its metabolites using GC-MS. The results showed that G. lucidum, S. commune and T. pavonia were able to convert ferulic acid to 4-vinyl guaiacol as a major degradation product, while the extract of G. australe and G. mastoporum grown in the same medium were found to obtain vanillin as a major component. Moreover, various degradation products, including methoxy benzoquinone, 2-methoxyhydroquinone and methyl eugenol, were also found in this experiment. 