Olive milling wastewater as a medium for growth of fourPleurotus species

Abstract

Four species ofPleurotus were adapted to grow on olive milling wastewater, and in certain conditions produced high yield of fruit bodies. Some biochemical transformations were observed in the olive milling wastewater owing to the growth ofPleurotus. In particular, the fungi actively excreted large amounts of laccase in the medium, and at the same time the concentration of phenolics and other toxic compounds significantly decreased, as revealed by HPLC analysis and toxicity tests on standard cultures of human cell lines.