Volume 12 - Issue 2

Isolation of efficient cellulase producing Aspergillus unguis UCSC324 and determination of the kinetic properties of its crude cellulose

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Isolation of efficient cellulase producing Aspergillus unguis UCSC324 and determination of the kinetic properties of its crude cellulose S. Mohanappriya, R. Kapilan Bioengineering of cellulolytic enzymes with enhanced catalytic efficiency and thermostability is important in the commercialization processes. This study describes the isolation of efficient cellulase producing fungi and determination of the kinetic properties of the crude cellulase. Among the fungal strains isolated from cow dung, hot rice water, water used in autoclave and decaying coconut wood, the strains growing on decaying coconut wood was selected for this study because of the higher amount of cellulase production measured by the rate of zone of clearance on the Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)sodium salt agar plates by Congo red test. The three isolated fungal strains isolated from coconut wood were identified and confirmed as Aspergillus niger FL17, Aspergillus oryzae CBS108.24 and Aspergillus unguis UCSC324 based on the morphological studies and molecular analysis done by amplifying the ITS5.8SrDNA sequence, PCR amplification and multiple sequence alignment. Since there had been no reports recorded about the production of cellulase from Aspergillus unguis UCSC324, kinetic properties of the cellulase from this fungal strain were studied. Fermentation medium contained (gL-1) 2.0g cellulose; 3.0g carboxymethyl cellulose; 0.3g ammonium sulphate and 100mL of distilled water was used at an optimal conditions of temperature 20±1ºC, pH7.0 for 5 days at 100rpm.Crude cellulase showed zero order kinetics for 5 minutes. When the activity of cellulase was measured at different temperatures ranging from 20°C to 75°Cat pH 7.0, the optimum temperature for the enzyme activity was 50°C. When the pH of the media was changed from 2.0 to 8.0, while temperature was kept at 50°C with 1g/100mL cellulose substrate, highest cellulase activity was observed at pH 5.0. Michaelis constant and the Vmax of the cellulase enzyme to soluble cellulose by Lineweaver-Burk Plot were4.545×10-2 moldm-3and 26.66 mgml-2mins-1respectively at pH 5.0 and 50°C. The crude enzyme was stable for at least 90 minutes at pH 5.0 and at 50°C. Since the cellulase enzyme from Aspergillus unguis was active in moderately acidic pH and showed better stability at 50°C, it could be a good candidate for the cellulase dependent industrial applications.

Effect of Homemade Effective Microorganisms on the Growth and Yield of Chilli (Capsicum annuum) MI-2

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Effect of Homemade Effective Microorganisms on the Growth and Yield of Chilli (Capsicum annuum) MI-2 K. P. A. N. Kodippili, J. Nimalan Using Effective Microorganisms (EM) is an ecofriendly approach to reduce the application of synthetic fertilizers in agriculture. The study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of homemade EM along with compost on growth, yield parameters of chilli (Capsicum annuum) at Hunumulla agricultural farm, Gampaha District. Field experiment was carried out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three treatments and each treatment had three replicates. The treatments were control (T1), compost (T2) and EM + compost (T3). EM solution was prepared by keeping cooked rice balls in a cool dark place for the enrichment of microbial growth and filled with sugarcane molasses for the fermentation. ANOVA and Duncan’s multiple range analysis were used to analyze the data using SPSS 22.The results showed that EM + compost treated crops showed significantly (P<0.05) highest plant height (29.76cm), number of leaves per plant (176.40), number of branches per plant (44.67), number of flowers per plant (15.47) and number of chilli pods per plant (10.60), but there were no significant differences observed between the EM + compost and compost (P>0.05) in pod length, pod width and the weight of total chilli pods per crop. The present study concluded that growth and yield of the chilli crops were increased by the application of EM with compost compared to the application of compost only. EM with compost is a potential biofertilizer for encouraging organic farming.

Role of Colocasia esculenta in Constructed Wetlands for Treating Rice mill Wastewater

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Role of Colocasia esculenta in Constructed Wetlands for Treating Rice mill Wastewater T. Balachandran, A. Nanthakumaran , This study was conducted to assess the efficiency of aquatic macrophyte – Colocasia esculenta to treat the rice mill wastewater especially for (suspended and dissolved) solids, organics, and nutrients in a pilot scale vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands. Two units of constructed wetlands were assembled with growing media comprised of three layers (soil-sand-gravel), one as control (without macrophyte) and the second as experimental unit (with macrophyte). The collected inlet and outlet samples were analyzed for various water quality parameters and statistical analysis was done to study the significance of Colocasia esculenta in wastewater treatment. The results revealed that Colocasia esculenta was effective in reducing suspended solids (34.5% ± 15.9), BOD5 (53.0% ± 5.7), COD (50.3% ± 11.1), nitrate (55.7% ± 13.5) and phosphate (76.1% ± 20.5) from the wastewater. Besides this, the growing media itself significantly reduced suspended and dissolved solids through sedimentation. Authors claim the Colocasia esculenta was observed to be efficient in treating rice mill wastewater compared to Canna indica for the same experimental conditions. In addition, long term operation of this experiment is needed to study the interactive role of microorganisms to make the treatment system highly efficient, cost effective and sustainable.

Evaluate the physical, chemical and sensory parameters of probiotic yoghurt during storage

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Evaluate the physical, chemical and sensory parameters of probiotic yoghurt during storage M. Pagthinathan, M. S. M. Nafees,; E. Powsika Dairy foods like yoghurt are the main types of food matrices supplemented with probiotic bacteria and they have a beneficial health effects among consumers. In this study, to evaluate the physico-chemical parameters and sensory attributers of probiotic added yoghurts using different concentrations (0%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.4%) of probiotic (Bifidobacterium spp). The samples were analyzed for physico-chemical, microbiological, and sensorial properties at a week interval during storage of four weeks. The results showed that, the quality parameters such as total solids, ash, fat, reducing sugar, total sugar, pH and titratable acidity did not show any significant difference (P>0.05) for all types of yoghurt at during the first day of storage . Syneresis was high in 0.4% probiotic added yoghurt (40.73±2.05%) and was lower in without probiotic yoghurt (37.70±1.32%). During the storage period, total solids, total sugar, reducing sugar, pH, and titratable acidity were (p < 0.05) varied among the different types of yoghurt sample. At the end of storage 0.4% probiotic added yoghurt showed higher average value of total solids (21.87±1.40%) and titratable acidity (0.67±0.04%), while yoghurt without probiotic showed higher values of reducing sugar (2.17±0.02%), total sugar (10.72±0.21%) and pH (4.38±0.01). At the end of storage, yoghurt without probiotic showed low value of total solids (15.80±1.93%) and yoghurt with 0.1% probiotic showed low value (0.62±0.02%) of titratable acidity yoghurt with 0.4 % probiotic showed low value of reducing sugar, total sugar and pH. During the storage period, dry matter, ash and titratable acidity increased with increasing concentration of probiotic in the yoghurt. Reducing sugar, total sugar and pH decreased with increasing concentration of probiotic. The high numbers of bacterial colony forming unit was showed during second of weeks of storage than fourth week of storage, which is lower than those without probiotic yoghurt. The sensory evaluation of the produced yogurts revealed the superiority of yogurts with 0.3% probiotic was highly preferred by consumers for their taste and overall acceptability comparison with the other types of yogurt. Finally, yogurts with 0.3% probiotic were more suitable for the consumption.