PRODUCTION AND PARTIAL PURIFICATION OF FUNGAL PECTINASES FROM ARECA NUT (ARECA CATECHU L.) HUSK WASTE UNDER SUBMERGED FERMENTATION

The present study was aimed to selection of more efficient strains of fungal species from the areca nut husk waste for the production of industrially important fungal pectinase under submerged fermentation (SmF). The out of 24 fungal species, 20 species showed the pectin degradation ability and remain four fungal species not showed any zone of clearance around the colony. More efficient ten fungal species were selected based on the rate of zone of clearance on the Czapek Dox agar (CDA) plates supplemented with pectin and Congo red at an optimal conditions of temperature 28 +/- 1 degrees C, pH-7.0 and 5th days of incubation under shake culture. Maximum pectinase activity was showed by Penicillium canescens (2.192 +/- 0.20 IU/ml) followed by Rhizopus stolonifer (2.134 +/- 0.23 IU/ml), Aspergillus candidus (2.133 +/- 0.19 IU/ml), Gliocladium viride (2.13 +/- 0.22 IU/ml), Penicillium spp1 (1.852 +/- 0.21 IU/ml) than the other isolates at 3rd day of incubation. Exopolygalacturonase activity was showed by Rhizopus stolonifer (1.553 +/- 0.11 IU/ml) and Aspergillus candidus (1.55 +/- 0.08 IU/ml) followed by, Penicillium brevicompactum (1.251 +/- 0.12 IU/ml), Penicillium canescens (1.202 +/- 0.13 IU/ml), Penicillium spp1 (1.171 +/- 0.09 IU/ml) than the other isolates at 2nd day of incubation. Soluble crude proteins were maximum by Aspergillus terreus (650 +/- 9.12 mu g/ml) followed by Penicillium brevicompactum (530 +/- 6.23 mu g/ml), Rhizopus stolonifer (500 +/- 7.56 mu g/ml), Aspergillus niger (360 +/- 3.91 mu g/ml) and Gliocladium viride (350 +/- 3.46 mu g/ml) at 4th day of incubation. Partial purified proteins were maximum by Penicillium brevicompactum (620 +/- 7.47 mu g/mg) followed by, Gliocladium viride (490 +/- 6.23 mu g/mg), Aspergillus terreus (470 +/- 6.98 mu g/mg), Fusarium chlamydosporum (370 +/- 7.12 mu g/mg), Penicillium spp1 (330 +/- 5.91 mu g/mg) than the other isolates at 5th day of incubation.