Background and objective: Nowadays, anticancer effects of 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone are verified. Optimization of 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone content of fermented wheat germ extract was carried out by investigating effects of the various effective factors on wheat germ fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Material and methods: Effects of controlling concentration of dissolved oxygen in fermentation media were studied on 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone content of fermented wheat germ extract. To increase the quantity of 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone in fermented wheat germ extract, simultaneous effects of four effective variables including wheat germ particle size, agitation rate, dry materials to water ratio and yeast to wheat germ ratio at three levels were investigated using Taguchi statistical design. Then, effects of fermentation time and increased scale on the content of 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone of fermented wheat germ extract were assessed using bench-scale fermenter. Concentration 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone was assessed using HPLC. Molecular weight patterns of the fermented wheat germ extract proteins and total protein of fermented wheat germ extract were assessed using gel electrophoresis and Kjeldahl methods, respectively. Results and conclusion: Control of dissolved oxygen concentration of the fermentation process decreased 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone content to 0.135 mg g-1. Investigation effects of particle size of wheat germ, agitation rate, dry materials to water ratio and yeast to wheat germ ratio on 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone production showed that 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone concentration increased to 2.58 mg g-1 (dry material), one of the top concentrations ever reported. Effects of fermentation time in bench-scale bioreactor showed that the highest quantity of production was achieved within 16 h. Study of the protein patterns and total protein of fermented wheat germ extract and comparisons between these values and commercial samples showed that production improvement of 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone did not include significant effects on quality and quantity of proteins of fermented wheat germ extract. Results of this study demonstrated that fermentation conditions could significantly affect 2,6 dimethoxy benzoquinone contents of fermented wheat germ extract. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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