Saccharification of Agricultural Wastes and Clarification of Orange Juice by Penicillium rolfsii CCMB 714 Pectinase

• Published in: Fermentation (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 10; p. 917
• Main Authors: Macedo, Kelly Menezes, Azevedo, Raquel Araújo, da Silva, Erik Galvão Paranhos, das Chagas, Thiago Pereira, Salay, Luiz Carlos, Uetanabaro, Ana Paula Trovatti, Aguiar-Oliveira, Elizama, da Costa, Andréa Miura
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-10-2023
• Subjects: Acids; Agricultural wastes; agroindustrial waste; Artocarpus heterophyllus; Bactris gasipaes; Cocoa; Datasets; Enzymes; Fermentation; filamentous fungi; Fruit juices; Fruits; Fungi; Garcinia mangostana; Neural networks; Neurons; Nitrogen; Optimization techniques; pectinase; Penicillium; saccharification; Seed meal; Seeds; Solid state fermentation; Temperature; Theobroma cacao; Brazil
• ISSN: 2311-5637; 2311-5637
• DOI: 10.3390/fermentation9100917

Pectinases are enzymes used in several industrial processes. Seven agroindustrial wastes—jackfruit seed meal (Artocarpus heterophyllus), cocoa seed peel (Theobroma cacao), cocoa husks (Theobroma cacao), passion fruit husks (Passiflora edulis), mangosteen husks (Garcinia mangostana), malt residue (Hordeum vulgare) and the peach palm waste (Bactris gasipaes Kunth.)—were evaluated to produce a crude extract containing pectinase activity by Penicillium rolfsii CCMB 714. The jackfruit seed meal was chosen as the best substrate for solid-state fermentation, which was optimized with 4 mL of water as a wetting agent for 2 days at 35 °C and with a 0.5% nitrogen source, whereby the pectinase production increased by 44% (362.09 U/g). The obtained crude extract was characterized and applied to wastes saccharification and orange juice clarification. The pectinase showed better activity at a pH of 3.0 to 5.0 and 55 °C, it stably maintained over 80% of activity at 30–50 °C for up to 60 min and 1 mM CuSO4 increased the pectinase activity by 17%. The saccharification of agroindustrial wastes (cocoa husks, mangosteen husks and passion fruit husks) resulted in 126.55 µmol/mL of reducing sugars from passion fruit husks, which represents an increase of 126% after optimization (45 °C for 22 h). For the clarification of orange juice, it was possible to reduce the absorbance of the juice by 55%. These results elucidate the potential of the low-cost pectinase solution from P. rolfsii CCMB 714 cultivated in jackfruit seed meal for both the enzymatic pretreatment of plant biomass and the application in beverage industries.