ABSTRACT The accumulation of plastics in the environment has led to many environmental issues. Therefore, numerous approaches had been proposed in order to reduce the amount of plastic materials in the environment. One of the most effective and efficient way is the use of fungi to biodegrade plastics. The aim of this study is to determine the growth and degradation capability of four mushroom species, namely Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii, Lentinula edodes and Agaricus bisporus on plastic components (Bisphenol-A (BPA) and di-(2-ethyhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)). This study was conducted through cultivation of these mushrooms in PDB medium, infused with different concentrations of BPA (0-10 µl/L) and DEHP (0-1000 µg/L). The potential of degradation for each mushroom was identified based on their manganese peroxidase (MnP) activity in the presence of the plastic components by using a UV-spectrophotometer. The results showed that all mushroom species in this study were not ideal bioremediation agents for BPA as no biomass growth was observed in the culture. The low MnP activities in the species throughout the study further indicate the intolerance of these fungi species towards BPA. However, all fungi in this study were able to tolerate and biodegrade DEHP. P. eryngii displayed the highest ability to biodegrade DEHP as it produced the highest MnP activity (54.11 U/L) and growth of biomass (0.283 g).
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