Effects of physicochemical parameters on the production of phenolic acids from palm oil mill effluent under liquid-state fermentation by Aspergillus niger IBS-103ZA

The present investigation is an effort to develop an environmentally friendly and cost-effective liquid-state fermentation process by introducing a new locally isolated fungal strain of Aspergillus niger (IBS-103ZA) for the production of phenolics from a new source, palm oil mill effluent (POME). Sucrose, manganese sulphate (MnSO₄) and temperature were identified as the most significant variables in improving phenolics production. Optimisation increased the total phenolic content from 856 ± 2.22 to 941 ± 3.72 GAE mg/l at 35.0 °C, 6.0% (w/v) sucrose, 2.7% (w/v) MnSO₄, and with other parameters fixed. The fermented extract (FE) with IC₅₀ value of 0.45 mg/ml showed the strongest antioxidant potency, compared to unfermented extract (UFE), with IC₅₀ of 1.13 mg/ml, and the synthetic antioxidant, BHT, with IC₅₀ of 0.63 mg/ml. The phenolic compounds were identified and quantified by HPLC.