{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T15:37:54Z","timestamp":1785166674029,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,18]],"date-time":"2026-01-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768694400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Fungal secondary metabolites are valuable sources of natural antioxidants and antimicrobials. This study evaluated the submerged fermentation of Penicillium crustosum OR889307 supplemented with lemon peel as a co-substrate to enhance the production of bioactive compounds. Lemon peel was selected for its phenolic precursors and sustainable availability as an agro-industrial byproduct. Crude extracts, aqueous and organic fractions, and molecular-weight partitions were assessed for antioxidant activity using the DPPH assay and for antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. Semi-purified extracts from co-substrate fermentations exhibited enhanced bioactivity, showing MIC values of 185 \u00b5g\/mL against P. aeruginosa and 225 \u00b5g\/mL against MRSA, along with strong ABTS radical-scavenging capacity (238.95 \u00b1 2.17 \u00b5mol TE). RP-HPLC-ESI-MS profiling revealed phenolic acids, flavanones, flavonols, and lignans, including ferulic acid 4-O-glucoside, bisdemethoxycurcumin, secoisolariciresinol, and quercetin 3-O-xylosyl-glucuronide. These findings demonstrate that lemon peel supplementation promotes the biosynthesis of antimicrobial and antioxidant metabolites by P. crustosum. This approach supports sustainable agro-waste valorization and offers a promising strategy for obtaining natural bioactive compounds with potential applications in food preservation and health-related formulations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15020348","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T11:35:27Z","timestamp":1768822527000},"page":"348","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Production of Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Metabolites by Penicillium crustosum Using Lemon Peel as a Co-Substrate in Submerged Fermentation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6755-3174","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arely","family":"N\u00fa\u00f1ez-Serrano","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ciencias Qu\u00edmicas, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n (UANL), Av. Universidad S\/N, Cd. Universitaria, San Nicol\u00e1s de los Garza 66455, Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Refugio B.","family":"Garc\u00eda-Reyes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ciencias Qu\u00edmicas, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n (UANL), Av. Universidad S\/N, Cd. Universitaria, San Nicol\u00e1s de los Garza 66455, Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6595-863X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan A.","family":"Ascasio-Vald\u00e9s","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioprocesses and Bioproducts Research Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Coahuila, Unidad Saltillo, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5867-8672","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Crist\u00f3bal N.","family":"Aguilar-Gonz\u00e1lez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioprocesses and Bioproducts Research Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Coahuila, Unidad Saltillo, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6638-237X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alcione","family":"Garc\u00eda-Gonz\u00e1lez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ciencias Qu\u00edmicas, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n (UANL), Av. 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