Elephant Foot Yam Peels as Substrate for the Production of Alkaline Xylanase from Aspergillus terreus Using Solid State Fermentation

Xylanase is a significant enzyme which contributes to the breakdown of xylan and is utilized in an enormous range of biotechnological applications. In the present study, alkaline xylanase was produced using Elephant Foot Yam peels (EFY) in Solid State Fermentation (SSF) by Aspergillus terreus Thom isolated from elephant dung, which was procured from Indore Zoo. The optimization of xylanase production using One Factor at a Time (OFAT) approach exhibited 121 ± 2.5 U/ml of the highest xylanase activity and obtained at 60°C, pH 8.0 in 96 h culture with inoculum size of 1x 106 spores/ml, 90% moisture and 2 mm particle size in SSF. Further, the BBD (Box-Behnken design) based on Statistical software analysis i.e., Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed for optimizing xylanase production which predicted 4.2% increase in value which was in concurrence with the investigational design model.