Harvesting Mycelial Biomass of Selected Basidiomycetes for Chitosan Biopolymer Extraction.

This study investigates the mycelial biomass production and chitosan extraction potential of various Basidiomycota strains, including , , , , and Both submerged fermentation (SF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF) methods were employed. The chitosan yield in basidiocarps of , , and was also evaluated as a reference material. The chitosan extracted from fungal cells was characterized using elemental analyses and FTIR spectroscopy. Among the cultivated strains, exhibited the highest mycelial biomass concentration in SF (1.03 g 100 mL) after 14 days, while achieved the highest biomass concentration in SSF (3.65 g 100 mL). The highest chitosan yield was obtained from the mycelium of (0.38%) and (0.37%) in shaken SF. Additionally, commercially cultivated demonstrated the highest chitosan yield in fungal fruiting bodies (1.7%). The extracted chitosan holds potential as a functional biopolymer additive for eco-friendly materials, serving as an alternative to synthetic wet and dry strength agents in packaging materials.