Abstract

?-GALACTOSIDASE PRODUCTION BY SOLID STATE FERMENTATION OF WHEAT BRAN/WHOLE WHEAT WITHOUT ANY SUPPLEMENT

Assamoi Allah Antoine*, Micael E. Bedikou, Soro-Yao Amenan Anastasie, Niamke Lamine Sebastien, Destain Jacqueline, Thonart Philippe

ABSTRACT

The aim of this work was to study the production of extracellular β-galactosidase at low cost. This enzyme has tremendous potential in research and application in various fields like food, bioremediation, biosensor, diagnosis and treatment of disorders. Thus, Penicilium canescens was tested in solid-state fermentation (SSF) on five agro-industrial substrates (Soya oil cake (SOC), soya meal (SM), wheat bran (WB), whole wheat (WW) and pulp beet (PB)). Among them, the WB bran proved to be a good substrate for β-galactosidase production followed by WW. The optimization of the production was carried out with the combination of 7/3 wheat bran and whole wheat. A bed height of fermentescible mass of 1.0 ± 0.1 cm, an initial moisture content of 83%, 106 spores/g (as initial inoculum level) at 30°C and seven days incubation were optimum for the best production (5292 ± 111 U/g). The supplementation in nitrogen source at 3% (W/W) as well as the initial pH didn’t influence the production while the supplementation in arabinose at 2-20% (W/W) reduced the production. These results suggested that the use of a simple and economical fermentation process, e.g. SSF, could reduce the production costs of β-galactosidase, which will promote the more use of this enzyme.

Keywords: Penicillium canescens; ?-galactosidase; Solid-state fermentation; Wheat bran; Whole wheat; Enzym