A promising approach for improved citric acid production by Aspergillus niger with the assistance of cinnamaldehyde derivatives

Boomika, Jayanna and Rohith, Gattu and Neha, Pandey and Praveena, Bhatt and Bettadaiah Kempaiah, B. and Pushpa Murthy, S. and Suhas, Ramesh (2025) A promising approach for improved citric acid production by Aspergillus niger with the assistance of cinnamaldehyde derivatives. Journal of Food Chemistry, 492. pp. 1-15.

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Abstract

Considering the importance of food preservation, this study presents the synthesis of cinnamaldehyde derivatives i.e., chalcones and pyrazoles with an atom economy of >92 % using an energy-efficient and eco-friendly mi- crowave-assisted synthesis with high purity and yield. All the compounds were evaluated for their ability to enhance the growth of Aspergillus niger for citric acid production via submerged fermentation, which showed that the pyrazoles significantly outperformed both untreated samples and chalcones in citric acid production, with enhancements of up to 25-times and 4-times, respectively. Compounds at lower concentrations yielded citric acid levels of 100–113 g/L. The purity and authenticity of citric acid recovered were confirmed through spectral studies. Molecular docking against aconitase enzyme from nine different sources revealed various types of in- teractions with binding affinities ranging from 7.2 to 10. The target compounds can be regarded as valuable “lead compounds” for citric acid production, effectively addressing both demand and supply.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Food preservation, Citric acid, Cinnamaldehyde, Pyrazoles, A. niger, Docking
Subjects:	600 Technology > 08 Food technology > 24 Fruits > 03 Citrus fruits 600 Technology > 08 Food technology > 29 Microbiological food > 02 Fungi
Divisions:	Fermentation Technology and Bioengineering Plantation Products Spices and Flavour Technology
Depositing User:	Somashekar K S
Date Deposited:	25 Sep 2025 04:13
Last Modified:	25 Sep 2025 04:13
URI:	http://ir.cftri.res.in/id/eprint/19860

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