Faster Chitosan productions by mucoralean strains in submerged culture

Production of chitosan was conducted using two Mucoralean strains, Mucor racemosus and Cunninghamella elegans. Chitosan was extracted from mycelia of M. racemosus and C. elegans at different growth phases on YPD medium. In both fungi, chitosan was rapidly produced, while highest yield of extractable chitosan was found in 24h of cultivation in submerged culture. The yield of chitosan isolated from dry mycelia of M. racemosus was about 40 per cente higher than from C. elegans. The degree of N-acetylation of chitosan was 49 per cente in M. racemosus and 20 per cente in C. elegans, and the D-glucosamine contents were about 48 per cente and 90 per cente, respectively.