Full Length Research Paper

Screening of natural substrates and optimization of operating variables on the production of pectinase by submerged fermentation using Aspergillus niger MTCC 281

M. Palaniyappan¹*, V. Vijayagopal², Renuka Viswanathan¹, T. Viruthagiri³

¹Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering, Chennai - 600 119, Tamil Nadu. India.

²Department of Chemical Engineering, Eritrea Institute of Technology, Eritrea, North-East Africa.

³Department of Chemical Engineering, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar - 608 002. Tamil Nadu, India.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: tmpalaniyappan@gmail.com. Tel: +91 9443678571. Fax: +91 4424500861.

Accepted 15 January, 2009

Pectinases are a group of hydrolytic enzymes that play an important role in food processing industry and alcoholic beverage industry. The present work aims at studying different natural substrates such as wheat flour and corn flour in comparison with synthetic pectin for the production of pectinase using Aspergillus niger (MTCC: 281). The work involves optimizing various parameters like substrate concentration, pH, temperature, rpm, time of fermentation for the production of pectinase and the effect of carbon sources on the synthesis of the pectinase enzyme to suggest a plausible, commercially suitable substrate than the standard. The experimental studies indicate that maximum synthesis of pectinase (6.1 U/mL) was obtained with A. niger (MTCC: 281) by using wheat as substrate under the influence of the additional carbon source, starch. The optimal conditions are found to be substrate concentration - wheat (1%), pH 5.5, temperature 30°C, time 72 h, rpm 170, and carbon source starch (0.025%).

Key words: Pectinase, polygalacturonase, Aspergillus niger, catabolite repression, pectin, pectolytic enzymes.