4
Aspergillus oryzae, Monascus spp., etc. are widely utilized to produce the very
famous fermented rice-based food product (Lv et al. 2015). Apart from fermenting
the rice, these filamentous fungi are known to produce several other important secondary metabolites too which show potential health beneficial properties (Chen
et al. 2015). The above-mentioned filamentous fungi are usually involved in the
preparation of famous food products like soy sauce, miso, and tempeh. They are
very old and prominent dishes in Asia. Soy sauce and miso are generally made using
Aspergillus oryzae, where this fungus is known to continue fermentation for months
to produce the desirable product (Lee et al. 2014). Rhizopus oligosporus is used in
the preparation of tempeh. During its preparation, cooked and soaked soybeans are
taken and then these are inoculated with fungus. This initiates the fermentation process and after 24–48 hours (may vary), the product gets ready for consumption
(Tahir et al. 2018).
Besides these applications of fungi in the food industry, they are also known to
excrete some useful enzymes while performing their metabolic activities. These
enzymes are known to perform many important functions in food processing techniques. To illustrate, fungal lipases have been used for the flavor development in
cheese, butter, and milk products and for removal of fat from fish and meat foodstuff
(Singh and Mukhopadhyay 2012). Another important enzyme is fungal pectinase.
This enzyme is produced from the famous fungi Aspergillus niger and holds a great
place in the food industry. The main use of pectinase enzymes is in the extraction of
fruit juices from its pulp followed by its clarification (Tapre and Jain 2014). Proteases
extracted from fungal sources are also known to have significant contributions during brewing and in the preparation of baking food products (Srilakshmi et al. 2015).
In addition to these, there are many other fungal enzymes too like lactases, pullulanases, hemicellulases, glucanases, α-amylases, β-amylases, etc. which play a crucial role in food processing techniques (Kavanagh 2017). Since the use of fungi
directly or indirectly in the food industry has been discussed briefly, there are some
fungal byproducts which are produced as well as consumed by humans and share a
good nutraceutical and economic value.
1.3 Fungal Byproducts
During the processing techniques, fungus usually makes multiple byproducts. These
products are then often harvested and further processed at the industrial levels and
are consumed majorly as part of the human diet. Fungi are known to be the chief
producers of various byproducts which are very significant to the food industry.
These byproducts are fungal chitosan, fungal biomass, fungal proteins, fungal biochemicals, and many more. This section of the chapter talks about the various fungal byproducts, their biosynthetic methods, their importance, and how these
products are used up as a part of the food industry.
At industrial levels, these fungal byproducts are synthesized on cheap and easy
available substrates so that their production costs remain low. Further the harvested
S. Singh and S. Gaur
Aspergillus oryzae, Monascus spp., etc. are widely utilized to produce the very
famous fermented rice-based food product (Lv et al. 2015). Apart from fermenting
the rice, these filamentous fungi are known to produce several other important secondary metabolites too which show potential health beneficial properties (Chen
et al. 2015). The above-mentioned filamentous fungi are usually involved in the
preparation of famous food products like soy sauce, miso, and tempeh. They are
very old and prominent dishes in Asia. Soy sauce and miso are generally made using
Aspergillus oryzae, where this fungus is known to continue fermentation for months
to produce the desirable product (Lee et al. 2014). Rhizopus oligosporus is used in
the preparation of tempeh. During its preparation, cooked and soaked soybeans are
taken and then these are inoculated with fungus. This initiates the fermentation process and after 24–48 hours (may vary), the product gets ready for consumption
(Tahir et al. 2018).
Besides these applications of fungi in the food industry, they are also known to
excrete some useful enzymes while performing their metabolic activities. These
enzymes are known to perform many important functions in food processing techniques. To illustrate, fungal lipases have been used for the flavor development in
cheese, butter, and milk products and for removal of fat from fish and meat foodstuff
(Singh and Mukhopadhyay 2012). Another important enzyme is fungal pectinase.
This enzyme is produced from the famous fungi Aspergillus niger and holds a great
place in the food industry. The main use of pectinase enzymes is in the extraction of
fruit juices from its pulp followed by its clarification (Tapre and Jain 2014). Proteases
extracted from fungal sources are also known to have significant contributions during brewing and in the preparation of baking food products (Srilakshmi et al. 2015).
In addition to these, there are many other fungal enzymes too like lactases, pullulanases, hemicellulases, glucanases, α-amylases, β-amylases, etc. which play a crucial role in food processing techniques (Kavanagh 2017). Since the use of fungi
directly or indirectly in the food industry has been discussed briefly, there are some
fungal byproducts which are produced as well as consumed by humans and share a
good nutraceutical and economic value.
1.3 Fungal Byproducts
During the processing techniques, fungus usually makes multiple byproducts. These
products are then often harvested and further processed at the industrial levels and
are consumed majorly as part of the human diet. Fungi are known to be the chief
producers of various byproducts which are very significant to the food industry.
These byproducts are fungal chitosan, fungal biomass, fungal proteins, fungal biochemicals, and many more. This section of the chapter talks about the various fungal byproducts, their biosynthetic methods, their importance, and how these
products are used up as a part of the food industry.
At industrial levels, these fungal byproducts are synthesized on cheap and easy
available substrates so that their production costs remain low. Further the harvested
S. Singh and S. Gaur