Production of Ferulic Acid Esterase from Aspergillus Oryzae (NCIM 1212)

Abstract

The majority of valuable compounds used worldwide are produced by chemical synthesis at very low cost, though consumers prefer to natural compounds because of their health awareness in daily life. Ferulic acid is one of the most valuable compounds having widespread application in various fields such as in baking, cosmetic, beverage and pharma industries, also used as a raw material for the production of vanillin, the most flavouring compound. Ferulic acid esterase is the enzyme that hydrolyzes the ester bond between the ferulic acid and polysaccharides present in plant cell wall and release ferulic acid from agro residues. The production of ferulic acid esterase activity by strains was detected in agar plate assay. The assay involves ethyl ferulate as a sole carbon source in specific media. Of the examined strains Aspergillus oryzae (NCIM 1212) showed the highest level of ferulic acid esterase activity 281 U/mg at the optimum pH and temperature of 5.5 and 35°C. Supplementation of soyabean meal (0.75%) as nitrogen source and sucrose (0.1%) as additional carbon source favored enzyme production.