Effect of Urea as an Inducer of ß-Fructofuranosidase in Saccharomyces Fermentation

The primary application of invertase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is in the confectionary industry. In Pakistan, much of this enzyme is imported. The influence of the carbon source during invertase production is well known, but little is understood about the nitrogen source influence. We examined three different nitrogen sources using Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain for invertase production. Saccharomyces species GCA-II was used to investigate the effect of urea and other nitrogen sources on the production of β-fructofuranosidase in submerged fermentation. It was found that when a very little amount of urea was added to the fermentation medium it showed marked increase in β-fructofuranosidase production i.e., from 121.35 to 158.26 U/ml.