Pectinase Production from Schizophyllum commune Through Central Composite Design Using Citrus Waste and Its Immobilization for Industrial Exploitation

Pectinase is an important group of industrial enzymes. Pectinase manufacturing occupies about 10% of the overall enzyme production world over. The aim of this study is to produce pectin lyase from Schizophyllum commune using the mosambi (sweet lime) fruit peels as substrate in solid state fermentation. The cultural parameters optimized through response surface methodology showed maximum pectin lyase production of 480.45 U/mL at initial medium pH of 6, incubation temperature of 35 °C, time period of 1 day, substrate concentration of 15 g and 3 mL of inoculum size. A purification fold of 3.08 with 355 U/mg specific activity and 4.16% yield was obtained after purification. Enzyme immobilization was done by entrapment with sodium alginate and adsorption with chitosan. Chitosan immobilized enzyme exhibited best thermal stability in the range of 45–55 °C and pH 8.0–9.0. Enzyme activity was stimulated in the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ while EDTA inhibited the enzyme activity. Chitosan immobilized pectin lyase was stable up to six cycles of reuse. The pH and thermal stability of S. commune pectin lyase makes it an important enzyme for industrial use. The results showed that pectin lyase produced from S. commune has significant potential for applications in the detergent and fruit juice industry. The enzyme produced from citrus agro waste via the proposed optimized biotechnological process can be explored for multiple industrial applications.