Hyaluronic acid technical and economic feasibility: Synthesis from corn waste via microbial fermentation.

Around 1.1 million tons of corn were harvested in Venezuela in 2022 (Fantinel, 2022). However, 50% of this is lignocellulosic material (Alzate et al., 2005) that has no added value, but could be used to produce various chemical compounds. On the other hand, skin aging is a concern for people of all ages, as reflected in the appearance of wrinkles, sagging, and dehydration of the skin. This is due to the decrease in hyaluronic acid (HA), which is found naturally in the human body. There are various methods of obtaining HA; however, they involve extraction from animal tissues and body fluids, which have a significant environmental impact. For this study, we proposed obtaining HA from the microbial fermentation of Streptococcus Zooepidemicus, using glucose extracted from corn cob leaves as a carbon source in order to make use of this waste product.