Coupling use of surfactant and in situ extractant for enhanced production of Antrodin C by submerged fermentation of Antrodia camphorata

•Effects of different surfactants and in situ extractants were investigated.•The optimal surfactant and extractant were Tween-80 and soybean oil, respectively.•The strategy was applied for enhanced Antrodin C production by SmF of Antrodia camphorata.•Under the optimum conditions, the Antrodin C production was increased by 3.6 times.•The biphasic system was firstly used for enhanced medicinal fungi metabolites.

In this study, a biphasic fermentation system coupling use of surfactant and in situ extractant was established to enhance Antrodin C production in submerged fermentation of Antrodia camphorata. Effects of several crucial factors such as the selection, concentration and addition time of surfactants and in situ extractants on the mycelial growth and production of Antrodin C were systematically studied. Results showed that the optimal surfactant and extractant were Tween-80 and soybean oil, respectively. The maximum production of Antrodin C (247.09 ± 0.97 mg/L) was obtained when 0.1% (w/v) Tween-80 (as surfactant) and 10% (v/v) soybean oil (as in situ extractant) both supplied at the logarithmic growth phase of fermentation (the 72th h and the 96th h, respectively), corresponding to 3.6 times significant increase compared with that of the control (53.23 ± 0.86 mg/L).