Sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolyzate as raw material for the biosurfactants production by yeasts - a new bio-based product

Biosurfactants are compounds of microbial origin with emulsifying and surface active properties, and have been target of agriculture studies, since these compounds can be applied as biopesticides in biological pest control. Furthermore, they can be used against mosquitoes vectors of tropical diseases such as dengue. However, this compounds production is still a challenge, due to its high costs. In this context, this problem can be reduced by their production from industrial by-products, such as lignocellulosic materials of the sugarcane sector. In the present work, biosurfactants were produced by yeasts Candida shehatae UFMG HM 60.1b, Issatchenkia occidentalis sp., Issatchenkia occidentalis CCTCC M 206097 and Scheffersomyces stipitis NRRL Y-7124, in culture medium supplemented with sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolyzate. Bioproducts were isolated and characterized. The biosurfactants proved to be good emulsifiers and with surface active, as well as glycolipid structure, probably a sophorolipid type. Further studies are aimed to determine the biopesticide feasibility of these compounds against some pathogenic fungi, insects and mosquito vectors of tropical diseases such as Aedes aegypti. Acknowledgments: CAPES, CNPq and FAPESP-15/06238-4.