Biomass Estimation In Solid-State Fermentation .1. Manual Biochemical Methods

We examined the changes in three biomass constituents (glucosamine, ergosterol, total sugar), sucrose consumption and conidia formation, during cultivation of Beauveria bassiana on agar plates or clay granules. We showed that glucosamine can be considered a good biomass indicator on condition that the media had the same constituents but not necessarily the same C/N ratio. Total sugar was not constant during the different growth phases and cannot accurately represent biomass changes. The ergosterol amounts changed during the different growth phases but, for a fixed process, it can be a good indicator of conidiation. Good correlations were obtained between glucosamine and sucrose consumption allowing biomass yield calculations.