PRODUCTION OF AMYLASE VIA SOLID STATE FERMENTATION USING RICE GRAIN

ABSTRACT

Amylase is one of the most widely used enzymes in the industry. It hydrolyses starch and is used commercially for the production of sugar syrups from starch which consist of glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides. The current study is aimed to explore the production of amylase using solid state fermentation (SSF) process. The agricultural product of rice grain was utilized as a substrate support for the fermentation process. Rice grain were bought in Uselu market, Benin City, the rice grains were soaked in distilled water and washed and it was then dried at 45 - 50 ° C for pre-treatment and characterization. The optimization of amylase production was investigated under several influences; however, it was streamlined to the optical density (ug/min/g) of the rice grain in respect to the number of days/ hours suitable for this fermentation in order to obtain amylase. Day three had a better optical density for the production of amylase compared to day zero and seven. The rice grain was proven to be effective for amylase production in the substrate studied, showing the feasibility of using agricultural product like rice grain as substrate for the production of amylase with optimal production conditions.