Production and action of an Aspergillus phoenicis enzymatic pool using different carbon sources

Abstract

Aspergillus phoenicis is an interesting heat tolerant fungus that can synthesize enzymes with several applications in the food industry due to its great hydrolytic potential. In this work, the fungus produced high enzymatic levels when cultivated on inexpensive culture media consisting of flakes from different origins such as cassava flour, wheat fibre, crushed soybean, agro-industrial wastes, starch, glucose or maltose. Several enzymatic systems were produced from these carbon sources, but amylase was the most evident, followed by pectinase and xylanase. Traces of CMCases, avicelase, lipase, β-xylosidase, β-glucosidase and α-glucosidase activities were also detected. Amylases were produced on rye flakes, starch, oat flakes, corn flakes, cassava flour and wheat fibre. Significant amylolytic levels were produced in the culture medium with glucose or when this sugar was exhausted, suggesting an enzyme in the constitutive form. Cassava flour, rye, oats, barley and corn flakes were also used as substrates in the hydrolytic reactions, aiming to verify the liberation potential of reducing sugars. Corn flakes induced greater liberation of reducing sugars as compared to the others. Thin layer chromatography of the reaction end products showed that the hydrolysis of cassava flour liberated maltooligosaccharides, but cassava flour and corn, rye, oats and barley flakes were hydrolyzed to glucose. These results suggested the presence of glucoamylase and α-amylase as part of the enzymatic pool of A. phoencis.

Sugarcane bagasse as a source of carbon for enzyme production by filamentous fungi1

“…Pasin et al (2014) reported high levels of amylase activity in A. japonicus when cultivated in different agro-industrial residues. The presence of this activity in the cultures might be due to the fact that amylases are constitutive enzymes, which are generally located in the fungal cell walls (Benassi et al 2012).…”

Angelica Essential Oil Loaded Electrospun Gelatin Nanofibers for Active Food Packaging Application

“…Essential oils (EOs), which are extracted from aromatic plants, have been widely studied in the food and pharmaceutical fields not only because they are natural GRAS products but also due to their various bioactive properties such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory [15][16][17]. Several studies have reported the incorporation of EOs in food packaging, which showed the efficiency against microorganisms and oxidants and the benefits on food preservation [18][19][20]. The essential oil of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.)…”

The Dose of Fungal Aerosol Inhaled by Workers in a Waste-Sorting Plant in Poland: A Case Study

“…The second-most frequently identified Aspergillus genus in the WSP was Aspergillus phoenicis. This is an interesting heat-tolerant fungus that can synthesize enzymes and has several applications in the food industry due to its great hydrolytic potential [55]. This may explain its prevalence in the household waste of the analysed WSP.…”