Pectinase Production from Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Using Orange Peels and Maize Cobs as Substrate for Solid-State Fermentation

Background of the Study: Degradation of wastes especially fruit waste is important because these wastes accumulate in the environment. The fruit wastes can be used to biosynthesize pectinase enzyme at a cheaper rate due its numerous industrial applications. The ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to degrade these wastes to produce pectinase enzyme was exploited.

Aim: The aim of this study is to isolate and characterize Saccharomyces cerevisiae and study the optimal conditions needed for pectinase production on the orange peel with maize cobs and study the effectiveness of the enzymes produced in the extraction of orange juice.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Microbiology Laboratory of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, Bauchi State, Nigeria, between August to September 2021.

Methodology: Soil samples from the orange seller stand was collected, serial dilution method was used to reduce the solution to a more usable concentration, and the samples were streaked on Yeast Peptone Dextrose Agar (YPDA). The plates were incubated for 3 to 9 days at 28+- oC. The isolated yeast was identified based on the morphological and biochemical test, the isolates were inoculated on the prepared fermentation media under different optimal conditions. The crude enzyme were extracted, and the extracts were tested for pectinase activity using the dinitrosalicylic reagent (DNS) method for the presence of reducing sugar. The resulting pectinase was determined to effectively extract juice from orange mash.

Results: Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed relatively pectinase hydrolysis using orange peels and maize cobs as substrate by solid-state fermentation under predetermined optimum fermentation conditions. Optimization for the pectinase production was done by altering the conditions for the production medium. Pectinase activity of (2.81 + 2.31 ug/ml) was observed at 72hr of incubation at 35oC.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that orange peel and maize cob can be successfully used to induce the production of pectinase using Saccharomyces cerevisiae under solid-state fermentation.