Removal of monomeric phenols in dry mill olive residue by saprobic fungi

The dry olive residue (DOR) obtained from the olive oil extraction process has toxic components against plants and microorganism growth, particularly monomeric phenols. In this investigation nine saprobic fungi were found to be capable of completely removing these phenols from the solid after 20 weeks of growth, although the rate depended on the type of fungi and phenol. Results showed that most of the fungi tested first eliminated o-diphenols and then non-o-diphenols. However, some fungi did not follow this trend. Phanerochaete chrysosporium first removed hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol and later their glucosides and, in contrast, Paecylomyces farinosus hydrolyzed hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol glucosides at the first stage, 2 weeks of growth, and then eliminated all monomeric phenols. The behavior of this fungus seems of great interest for recovering phenolic antioxidants from the DOR. Similarly, differences in DOR decolorization capacity among the fungi tested were also observed. Coriolopsis rigida showed the highest capacity, followed by Phebia radiata, Pycnoporus cinnabarinus, and Pha. chrysosporium. Therefore, both decolorization and monomeric phenol elimination pointed out that saprobic fungi could be used to detoxify the DOR obtained from the two-phase system of the olive oil extraction process.