Application of Plackett-Burman Design for Screening the Media Components for Tannase Production from Redgram Husk using Submerged Fermentation

In the present study, effect of medium components on tannase enzyme production from redgram husk using Aspergillus foetidus (MTCC 3557) was studied. The substrate employed in this research was collected from agriculture waste which is abundantly available in southern part of India. Placket-Burman Design (PBD) was used to evaluate the significant parameters that have large effect on the fermentation and with this experimental design a successful results were obtained. Plackett–Burman experimental design assumed that there were no interactions between the different variables in the range under consideration. A linear approach was considered to be sufficient for screening. Plackett–Burman experimental design was a fractional factorial design and the main effects of such a design may be simply calculated as the difference between the average of measurements made at the high level (+1) of the factor and the average of measurements at the low level (–1). The twelve variables namely concentrations of eleven nutrients (ammonium nitrate, ammonium chloride, sodium nitrate, ammonium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, ferrous sulphate, potassium chloride, potassium di-hydrogen phosphate, yeast extract, urea and peptone) and inducer tannic acid were screened in twenty experimental trials. From standard Plackett-Burman data analysis it was conformed that, concentration of tannic acid, concentration of potassium di-hydrogen phosphate, concentration of magnesium sulphate and concentration of ferrous sulphate were found to be the most significant for tannase enzyme production.