Cost-Effective Waste Substrates for Microbial Single Cell Proteins Production: A Review

Review Article

Authors

  • Alia Akram Institute of Biochemistry, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31580/at5p1z87

Keywords:

Biological waste, Biomass, Microbial Protein, Renewable feedstock, Substrate

Abstract

Single Cell Protein (SCP) is the term used for the whole biomass of cells of different microorganisms containing large quantities of proteins. It can be used as an alternative source of proteins for animal feed and human food. Several commercial industries produce SCP due to its applications in the food sector, from a variety of microorganisms such as yeasts, fungi and bacteria, usually recognized as safe (GRAS organisms). There are several microbial strains that have rapid growth rates and high accumulation of cellular proteins. They exploit and valorize renewable feedstocks from a variety of biological wastes. This review outlines the potential microbial strains for SCP production coupled with their cost-effective carbon sources from food, agriculture and industrial wastes. The nutrient potential of each SCP and its associated safety and future research challenges are also discussed in detail in this review.

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2025-03-31