ABSTRACT
Biological, non-parasitic production of ergot alkaloids is carried out by saprophytic cultivation of production strains of different species of the genus Claviceps. The saprophytic cultivations of Claviceps spp. were experimentally performed as early as in the last century (Bové, 1970). Mycelial saprophytic cultures in nutrient media were reported since the 1920s (Bonns, 1922; McCrea, 1931; Schweizer, 1941; De Tempe, 1945). These experiments provided the basis of cultivation of the fungi Claviceps under artificial nutritional conditions but did not yet serve for alkaloid production or were not reproducible (McCrea, 1933).
