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BIODEGRADATION OF ACACIA AND CHESTNUT TANNINS BY NATIVE ISOLATES OF THE GENUS Penicillium AND Aspergillus

Abstract

In the present work, the potential of native isolates of fungi strains to biodegrade vegetable tannins used in the tanning industry was evaluated. Penicillium citrinum showed to be more efficient for consumption of acacia tannin, reaching 94.85%. Aspergillus chevalieri needs a greater adaptation phase (48 h) in both acacia and chestnut medium, evidenced by the slow growth (0.022 h-1) and low biomass productivity (0.31 g.L-1. h-1). The acacia tannin presented a higher COD/BOD ratio (2.97) and lower total phenol content (68%) when compared to chestnut tannin. In addition, there was greater consumption of this tannin in the cultivations, which contradicts previous reports and corroborates the results obtained with FTIR analysis that suggests the biodegradation of acacia by Penicillium citrinum and aethiopicum. The expressive results obtained demonstrated that the biodegradation of condensed tannins may be a promising alternative, with the potential to minimize tannery waste.

Keywords:
Microbial degradation; Condensed tannin; Tannery waste

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