Production of Cellulases through Solid State Fermentation Using Kinnow Pulp as a Major Substrate

A study was conducted to appraise the potential of using kinnow pulp for production of cellulases by Trichoderma reesei Rut C-30. Out of the different combinations tried out, dried kinnow pulp supplemented with wheat bran in the ratio of 4:1 resulted in the highest filter paper cellulase (FPase) activity of 13.4 IU/gds whereas endo-1,4-β-glucanase (CMCase) activity was found to be best when kinnow pulp was supplemented with wheat bran in the ratio 3:2 using Mandel Weber (MW) medium. β-glucosidase activity of 18 IU/gds was again found to be maximum in treatment involving 3:2 ratio of kinnow pulp to wheat bran in MW medium. However, supplementing kinnow pulp with wheat bran in 3:2 using water as medium resulted in an FPase:β-glucosidase ratio of nearly 1:1 which is considered to be most appropriate for achieving ideal saccharification efficiency in case of pretreated lignocellulosic material. Thus, this study involved the utilisation of kinnow pulp for production of cellulases and demonstrated that a substrate which does not find any commercial significance and causes environmental pollution due to its poor disposal holds promise as a substrate for production of cellulases.