Fermentation of soybean oil deodorizer distillate with Candida tropicalis to concentrate phytosterols and to produce sterols-rich yeast cells.

Phytosterols have been recovered from the deodorizer distillate produced in the final deodorization step of vegetable oil refining by various processes. The deodorizer distillate contains mainly free fatty acids (FFAs), phytosterols, and tocopherols. The presence of FFAs hinders recovery of phytosterols. In this study, fermentation of soybean oil deodorizer distillate (SODD) with Candida tropicalis 1253 was carried out. FFAs were utilized as carbon source and converted into cellular components as the yeast cells grew. Phytosterols concentration in SODD increased from 15.2 to 28.43 % after fermentation. No significant loss of phytosterols was observed during the process. Microbial fermentation of SODD is a potential approach to concentrate phytosterols before the recovery of phytosterols from SODD. During SODD fermentation, sterols-rich yeast cells were produced and the content of total sterols was as high as 6.96 %, but its major sterol was not ergosterol, which is the major sterol encountered in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Except ergosterol, other sterols synthesized in the cells need to be identified.