FERMENTATIVE

PRODUCTION OF SINGLE
CELL PROTEINS
INTRODUCTION
• Single cell proteins refers to the crude, a refined or edible protein extracted
from pure microbial cultures(mono culture) as dead or dried biomass. They
can be used as a protein supplement for both humans and animals.
• Microorganisms like algae, fungi, yeast, and bacteria have very high protein
content in their biomass.
• These microbes can be grown using inexpensive substrates like agricultural
wastes, wood shavings, sawdust, corn cobs etc. and even human and animal
waste.
• The microorganisms utilize the carbon and nitrogen present in these
materials and convert them into high quality proteins which can be used as
a supplement in both human and animal feed.
 Types of scp

• Single cell protein broadly refers to the microbial biomass or protein

extract used as food or feed additive.
• If the scp is considered for human consumption it is considered as
food grade.
• Scp is regarded as feed grade, when it is used as an animal feed
supplement, but not suitable for human consumption.
Composition of SCP
• Scp is of high nutritional value for humans or animal consumption. It is
composed of :
• High protein content( about 60-80% dry cell weight).
• Fats
• Carbohydrates
• Nucleic acids
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Essential amino acids (lysine, methionine).
Advantages of using microorganisms for scp
production
• Microbes grow at a very rapid rate under optimal culture conditions.
Some microbes double their mass in less than 30 minutes.
• The quality and quantity of protein content in microorganisms is
better compared to higher plants and animals.
• A wide range of raw materials, which are otherwise wasted, can be
fruitfully used for scp production.
• The culture conditions and the fermentation process are very simple.
• Microorganisms can be easily handled, and subjected to genetic
manipulations.
Basic steps of scp production
• The production is carried out in the following steps:
• Raw materials/ Substrates
• Selection of suitable strain
• Fermentation
• Harvesting
• Post-harvest treatment
• Scp processing for food
Raw materials/substrates
• The nature of the raw materials is very crucial for scp production.
• The cost of raw material significantly influences the final cost of scp.
• The most commonly used raw materials may be grouped in the
following categories.
A. High energy source eg : alkanes, methane, methanol, ethanol.
B. Waste products eg: molasses, whey, animal manures, straw,
bagasse.
C. Carbon dioxide, the simplest carbon source.
D. Sewage obtained from industrial wastes.
Production of scp from high energy sources
• There are a large number of energy rich carbon compounds or their
derivatives as a raw materials for scp production.
• These include :
• Alkanes , Methane , Methanol and Ethanol.
• Bacteria and yeasts are mostly employed for scp production from high
energy sourecs.
Alkanes
• It is observed that when cells are grown on a medium of alkanes enriched with lipids,
the diffusion of alkanes in to the cell is enhanced.
• Certain yeasts have been successfully used for producing scp from alkanes eg:
Saccharomycopsis lypolytica , Candida tropicalis , Candida oleophila.
• Several oil companies have developed fermentation systems, employing petroleum
products for large scale manufacture of scp by yeasts. Two types of petroleum
products are mainly used for this purpose.
1. Gas oil or diesel oil containing 10-25% of alkanes with carbon length C15- C30 (Long
chain alkanes).
2. Short chain alkanes with carbon length in the range of C10-C17, Isolated from gas oil.
• The major drawback of alkanes as a substrate is the formation of carcinogens, along
with scp which are highly harmful.
Methane
• Certain bacteria that can utilize methane for scp production have
been identified eg: Methylococcus capsulatus, Methylomonas
methanica , Methylovibro soehngenii.
• The bacterial enzyme methane oxygenase oxidizes methane to
methanol, which can be converted to formaldehyde and then to
formic acid.
Methanol
• Methanol is a good substrate for producing scp.
• Methanol as a carbon source for scp has several advantages over alkanes and methane.
• Methanol is easily soluble in aqueous phase at all concentrations, and no residue of it
remains in the harvested biomass.
• Technically, methanol can be easily handled.
• The source of methanol are natural gas ,Coal , oil, and methane.
• Many species of bacteria (Methylobacter , Arthrobacter , Pseudomonas) yeasts
(Candida boidinni , Hansenula polymorpha) and fungi (Trichoderma lignorum) are
capable of producing scp from methanol.
• Bacteria are mostly preferred beacouse they require simple fermentation conditions,
grow rapidly and possess high content of proteins.
Ethanol
• Ethanol is a good substrate for the production of scp for human
consumption (food grade scp).
• However , this process , as such , is not economically feasible.
• However , several factors local raw materials, innovative fermentation
technology, political decisions and foreign trade balances influences
production of scp.
• It may not be surprising if large scale production of scp commences ,
on one day , from ethanol for a variety of reasons.
Production of scp from wastes
• There are several materials that serve no useful purpose and they are
collectively reffered to as wastes. Eg : molasses, Whey, animal manures ,
straw and bagasse.
• These waste products, formed in various industries and other biological
processes, largely contribute to environmental pollution.
• There are several advantages of utilizing wastes for the production of scp.
These include :
• The conversion of low cost organic wastes to useful products and
• Reduction in environmental pollution.
• Examples : Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used for molasses.
Production of scp from wood
• The natural waste wood source containing cellulose , hemicellulose
and lignin are attractive natural sources for the production of scp.
• It is essential to break down these cellulosic compounds into
fermentable sugars.
• For this purposes extracellular cellulases can be used.
• Certain bacteria (Cellulomonas sp) and fungi (Trichoderma sp ,
Pencillium sp) are good source for celluloses.
• The cellulosic materials can be directly used for biomass production.
The resultant scp is used as animal feed.
Production of scp from Co2
• Certain algae grown in open ponds require only co2 as the carbon source.
• In the presence of sunlight , they can effectively carry out photosynthesis
and produce scp.
• The examples of these algae are Chlorella sp, Scenedesmus sp and
Spirulina sp.
• Chlorella is used as a protein and vitamin supplement for enriching ice
creams, breads and yoghurts.
• The resultant algae biomass can be harvested , dried and powdered.
• Algae scp are very useful in animal supplement.
Production of scp from sewage
• Domestic sewage is normally used for large scale production of
methane, which in turn may be utilized for the production of scp.
• The sewage obtained from industrial waste in cellulose processing ,
starch production and food processing can be utilized for the
production of scp.
• The organism candida utilis is used to produce scp by using effluent
formed during the course of paper manufacture.
• Other microorganisms namely Candida tropicalis , Paecilomyces
varioti are employed to use sulfite waste liquor for the production of
scp.
Microorganisms
• Several microorganisms bacteria, yeast , fungi , algae and actinomycetes ,
utilizing a wide range of substrates are used for the production of scp.
• The selection of microorganisms for scp production is based on several criteria.
These include their :
• Nutritive value, non pathogenic nature, production cost ,raw materials used and
growth patterns.
• It is a very critical step as the quality of protein depends totally on the microbes
that is used for production.
• Thus careful selection of the product should be done.
• Care should be taken that the selected strain should not produce any toxic or
undesirable effects in the consumer.
Fungi and yeasts
• Filamentous fungi used for scp production are Aspergillus niger , Aspergillus fumigatus , Rhizopus
cyclopean which grows on cellulose waste , starch and sulphite waste liquor contain about 50 to 55%
protein.
• Scp is produced from yeasts are Candida utilis , Candida lipolytica , Saccharomyces cervicae and
Candida tropicalis.
• Torula yeast as a food is obtained through fermentation using molasses as substrate and it has high
protein carbohydrate ratio than forages. It is rich in lysine but poor in methionine and cysteine.
• Saccharomyces consist high protein with good balance of amino acids and rich in B- complex
vitamins. It is more suitable as poultry feed.
• Strict aseptic conditions are required when using yeast as a scp production.
Disadvantages
High nucleic acid content , Slow growth is observed in fungi than yeast and bacteria, contamination
risk is high , Mycotoxins are also produced.
Bacteria
• They have more than 80% protein but are poor in sulphur containing
amino acids.
• Brevibacterium uses hydrocarbon while Methylophilus methylotropus
uses methanol as a substrate.
Disadvantages
It has high nucleic acid content
Recovering the cells is a bit problematic
Endotoxin production should be carefully tested
Algae
• Chlorella , Scenedesum acutus are grown for scp.
• These have about 60% protein with good amino acid composition but less in
sulphur containing amino acids.
• Chlorella and Spirulina are used for commericial scale production.
• It is spray dried and sold as pills and powders.
Disadvantages
As they are rich in Chlorophyll, it is not advised for human consumption
(expect Spirulina)
It has low density ie : 1-2 gm dry weight / litre of substrate
There is a lot of risk of contamination during growth.
Fermentation
• It can be carried out in the fermenter which is equipped with aerator ,
thermosat , ph etc or in trenches or ponds.
• Microbes are cultured in fed batch culture.
Harvesting
• When the colonies of microbes are fully developed , they are then
harvested.
• The bulk of cells are removed from the fermenter by decanation.
Post harvesting treatment
• After harvesting , the cells are subjected to a variety of processes.
• Post harvesting treatments include steps like separation , washing , drying ,
etc.
Seperation
Scp cell organisms like yeast and bacteria are normally recovered by
centrifugation , flocculation and floatation.
Washing
The separated biomass is washed.
Drying
It is important to recover as much water as possible prior to final drying.
Processing of SCP
• Depending on the substrate material and intended food/feed
application , various processing steps are required prior to
formulation of the final SCP product.
• Cell wall degradation in single cell protein products.
• Nucleic acid removal in single cell protein products.
Cell wall degradation in single cell protein
products
• Some scp are used as whole cell preparations , while in others the cell wall may
be broken down to make the protein more accessible.
• Various methods have been used to disrupt the cell wall:
A. MECHANICAL METHODS
• Crushing, crumbling, grinding, pressure homogenization, etc.
B. CHEMICAL METHODS
• Hydrolytic enzymes (endogenous or exogenous)
• Salts (NaCl)
C. PHYSICAL METHODS
• Freeze- thaw, osmotic shock, heating & drying.
Nucleic Acid Removal in Single Cell Protein
Products
• Although algae generally have low nucleic acid content, the rapidly proliferating
bacterial and fungal species have high nucleic acid (RNA) content.
• When SCP is produced for human consumption, high nucleic acid content is a
problem because ingestion of purine compounds derived from RNA breakdown
increases uric acid concentrations in plasma, which can cause gout and kidney
stones
• Endogenous RNA degrading enzymes (ribonucleases) can be exploited in
degradation of RNA.
• Degraded RNA components diffuse out of the cells, but biomass loss (35-38%)
also occurs.
• Treatments at 65*C, PH 7.5-8.5, to activate endogenous ribonuclease, also
reduce the RNA content to <2%, while the protein content stays at 50%.
Limitations of using SCP
• The nucleic acid content of microbial biomass is very high (3-8% in algae; 8-12% in bacteria;
6-12% in yeast). This is highly hazardous, since human have a limited capacity to degrade
nucleic acids.
• The presence of carcinogenic and other toxic substances is often observed in association
with SCP.
• These include the hydrocarbons, heavy metals, mycotoxins and some contaminants. The
nature and production of these compounds depends on the raw materials, and the type of
organisms used.
• There is a possibility of contamination of pathogenic microorganisms in the SCP.
• The digestion of microbial cells is rather slow. This is frequently associated with indigestion
and allergic reaction in individuals.
• Food grade production of SCP is more expensive than some other sources of e.g. soy meal.
• Of course, this mainly depends on the cost of raw materials. In general, SCP for human
consumption is 10 times more expensive than SCP for animal feed.
Applications of SCP
• Provides instant energy.
• It is extremely good for healthy eyes and skin.
• Provides the best protein supplemented food for undernourished children.
• Serves as a good source of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, crude fibres etc.
Used in therapeutic and natural medicines for:
Controlling obesity
Lowers blood sugar level in diabetic patients
Reducing body weight , cholesterol and stress.
Prevents accumulation of cholesterol in body.