Oil production by Mortierella isabellina from whey treated with lactase

Whey, a by-product of cheese manufacturing is rich in nutrients such as lactose, proteins, and mineral salts. The fungus Mortierella isabellina was used for production of oil containing γ-linoleic acid (GLA) during fermentation on deproteinized whey permeate (DP-WP) with and without lactase addition. The maximum oil concentration was 3.65 g/L in DP-whey (16.0% lactose) without enzyme treatment. Treatment of DP-WP with lactase resulted in an increase in oil content to 17.13 g/L. Palmitic (22.50–25.80%) and oleic acids (37.60–48.56%) were the major fatty acids along with GLA (2.18–5.48%), linoleic (16.21–22.43%) and stearic acid (3.20–10.08%). This study suggests that whey can be utilized as a feedstock for production of microbial oil.