GLYCINE AS GROWTH SUPPLEMENT IN CULTURE MEDIUM OF CORDYCEPS MILITARIS ENHANCES ITS GROWTH AND BIOMASS

Cordyceps militaris possesses several compounds with medicinal properties, and is commonly used in traditional Chinese functional food and medicine for a variety of health benefits. Because of its rare occurrence in nature, the market demand for artificial C. militaris is on the rise. Furthermore, efforts to increase its bioactive ingredients have also been considered in research. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of different growth supplements such as potassium fluoride (KF), Glycine (GLY), Adenine sulphate (AS) and Ascorbic acid (AsA) in rice medium on the enhancement of biomass in C.militaris fruiting body. A wide range of concentrations of all the growth supplements were added to the culture media during the cultivation of C. militaris fruiting bodies. The number, length, fresh weight and dry weight of the fruiting bodies in supplemented media were measured and compared with control (Standard medium). The biomass as fresh weight and dry weight per bottle in C. militaris fruiting bodies in the growth medium supplemented with 500 mg/l Glycine was enhanced 51.2% and 77.22% respectively. A remarkable enhancement of dry weight biomass (77.22%) in the fruiting bodies of C. militaris was recorded. These results demonstrated that the dose of glycine as amino acid in rice medium could stimulate the growth of C. militaris fruiting bodies and may enhance the production of bioactive ingredients that possess useful antioxidant, anticancer and immunomodulatory activities.