PRODUCTION OF LIPASE FROM PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT USING FUNGAL ISOLATES
Authors: *Oshoma C.E, Obuekwe I.S, Osawaru E.
DOI Info: N/A
ABSTRACT
Palm oil mill effluent (POME) management has been a major environmental issue in palm oil producing nations of the world like Nigeria. However, microorganisms such as fungi can utilise these effluents for the production of useful industrial enzymes via fermentation. Fungal isolates from POME contaminated soil were evaluated for the production of lipase via fermentation of the effluent. Fungal growth, free fatty acid percentage, lipase activity, pH and reducing sugars were analyzed in the course of fermentation using standard procedures. Fungal isolates from soil contaminated with POME were identified as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus tamarii, Penicillium notatun and Saccharomyces cereviseae. From the results, A. niger had the highest fungal growth and lipase activity of 14.00 ± 0.55 x 106 cfu/ml and 8.50 ± 0.12 U/ml respectively while the least fungal growth and lipase activity of 10.30 ± 1.00 x 106 cfu/ml and 4.33 ± 0.05 U/ml respectively were for A. tamarii. Fungal growth and lipase activity for A. niger were statistically significant when compared to other fungal isolates (p < 0.05). Thus, the investigation revealed that A. niger can be the choice of fungal isolate for bioconversion of POME for lipase production.
Affiliations: *Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Benin, PMB. 1154, Benin City, Nigeria.
Keywords: Lipase, POME, Aspergillus Niger, Fermentation, Fungal Growth
Published date: 2018/06/30
