Mycelia of Mucor rouxii as a source of chitin and chitosan

Mycelia of M. rouxii may be used as a source of chitosan for medical, cosmetic and other purposes. The contents of chitin and chitosan in the mycelia from 2-day old cultures were 8.9 and 7.3% on a dry basis, respectively. Prolonged growth did not significantly influence the available amount of these polysaccharides. Chitin and chitosan isolation involved deproteinization of the mycelia with 2% NaOH solution at 90 °C for 2 h, extraction of chitosan with 10% acetic acid at 60 °C for 6 h and subsequent precipitation of chitosan at pH = 9.0. The recovery yield of aminosugars during the isolation process was about 94% of their total content in the mycelia. The chitosan contained 81.3% of glucosamine and its degree of acetylation was about 27.3%.