Effect of medium composition on 1-octen-3-ol formation in submerged cultures of Pleurotus pulmonarius

The effect of nitrogen and fatty-acid-rich substrates on the production of 1-octen-3-ol by the edible fungus Pleurotus pulmonarius, during growth in both shaken flask and fermentor cultures, and in-vitro, in post-harvested mycelium, was studied. Addition of soybean flour and soybean oil to the growth medium enhanced 1-octen-3-ol production about sevenfold and doubled the fungal biomass, as compared to that obtained from P. pulmonarius cultured on a defined synthetic medium. A clear relationship between the production of 1-octen-3-ol and lipoxygenase activity was found during the growth of mushroom pellets. The highest in-vitro generation of 1-octen-3-ol was obtained upon addition of exogenous linoleic acid and pure O₂ to pellets grown with soybean fluor and soybean oil. This generation was even higher than that of fruiting bodies exposed to the same conditions. These results suggest that lipoxygenase activity and, subsequently, 1-octen-3-ol biosynthesis in P. pulmonarius are enhanced by the presence of substrates containing fatty acids in the growth medium. Correspondence to: D. Levanon