Production of extracellular pectinolytic, cellulolytic and xylanoytic enzymes by thermophilic mould Sporotrichum thermophile Apinis in solid state fermentation

Among four thermophilic moulds, Sporotrichum thermophile produced high titres of xylanases, pectinases and cellulases after 4 days of incubation in solid-state fermentation (SSF). Of the 27 different combinations of agro-residues tried, wheat bran (WB) and citrus pectin (CP) in 1:1 ratio supported a very high production of enzymes. When the mixed substrate at pH 7.0 was moistened with tap water (1:2.5 ratio) to aw of 0.95 and inoculated with 60 × 10 conidiospores (from 5 day-old culture) 10 g of substrate, S. thermophile secreted maximum enzyme titres (xylanase 1900, pectinase 250 and cellulase 42 Ug dry mouldy bran in 4 days at 45°C. The mixture of enzymes has been found useful in the treatment of fruit pulps for enhanced juice recovery.