Abstract

The aim of this work was to increase the concentration of substances with anti-mycobacterium activity in culture filtrates obtained from the dematiaceous fungus C10. An experimental design was employed to study the effect of glucose, potato infusion and Senna reticulata infusion. The anti-mycobacterium activity was determined by evaluating the growth of bacteria in culture medium containing “culture filtrate” (the products of the submerged fermentation of the fungus). It was observed that the concentrations of glucose 30 g/L, potato infusion 50% v/v and S. reticulata infusion 0% v/v (a better result was obtained not using S. reticulata infusion) were the best conditions for metabolites production. The influence of each variable was determined and it was possible to produce a mathematical model and a surface response to demonstrate the influence of the studied variables. In conclusion, we note that the culture medium had a great importance in the production of culture filtrate with anti-mycobacterial activity and that the experimental design showed to be a functional statistical tool for studying the influence of culture medium composition.

Key words: Culture medium, Senna reticulata, endophytic fungi, experimental design.