Citrus limetta (Musambi) PEELS: AN EFFICIENT CHEAP SUBSTRATE FOR TANNASE PRODUCTION IN SOLID STATE FERMENTATION

Abstract

The present study mainly executed to optimize various factors for tannase production employing agro-industrial waste. Ten bacterial strains isolated from fish gut were revived on nutrient agar and then cultivated on tannin-agar plates for holozone and tannase assay. Of all, Klebsiella oxytoca was selected due to highest enzyme production (24.52 U/ml) potential among other strains. The medium ingredients (musambi peels (2%), trypton (0.2%), potassium nitrate (0.05%) and potassium chloride (0.1%) was selected employing one variable at a time approach. Optimized culture parameters such as initial medium pH of 3, incubation temperature of 30°C, with 1% inoculum size and 24 h of fermentation period yielded highest enzyme production. Partial characterization of the crude enzyme revealed best enzyme activity at pH 5 and 40°C. The optimum time of enzymatic action was 30 minutes with substrate concentration of 1.5%. These finding could be utilized for further scale up studies