Indian Journal of Advances in Chemical Science Volume: 6, Issue 1: , January 2018

ISSN No.: 2320-0898 (Print); 2320-0928 (Electronic)

DOI: 10.22607/IJACS.2018.601006

Research Article

Groundnut fodder was used as substrate for cellulase production by solid state fermentation by Aspergillus unguis. Different concentrations of NaOH on cellulase production and effect of temperature, pH, and surfactants were optimized to enhance cellulase production and reducing sugars yield, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, 1% NaOH-treated groundnut fodder produced maximum filter paperase activity with 5.45 FPU/g of substrate, carboxymethyl cellulase activity of 4.75 U/g of substrate, and β-glucosidase activity of 19.0 U/g of substrate at 1 ml of crude cellulase preparation. Higher yield of reducing sugars was obtained at 50°C with 4.8 g/l, pH 4.8 with 4.37 g/l. Non-ionic surfactant Tween-80 increased the rate of reducing sugars yield at all temperatures such as 40oC, 45°C, and 50°C. pH 4.8 with addition of Tween-80 showed improvement in reducing sugar yield about 2-fold by 7.16 g/L.

Key words: Aspergillus unguis, Surfactants, Alkali pretreatment, Hydrolysis, Cellulase, Reducing sugar.

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