SCIENCE

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EVALUATION OF CORNBRAN ('DUSA'), YAM AND BANANA PEELS AS POSSIBLE SUBSTRATES FOR AMYLASE PRODUCTION BY LOCAL STRAINS OF ASPERGILLUS NIGER CA-3 AND OR-5
(1989) ADO, SALEH ALHAJI
A total of forty five strains of Aspergillus niger were isolated from various sources and screened for amylase producing ability using Nutrient agar containing soluble starch as the substrate. A. niger CA-3 and OR-5 were selected as the highest amylase producers. The two selected strains were studied further for amylase production in submerged cultures using corn bran ('Dusa'), yam and banana peels as the substrates with soluble starch as the control. When grown on soluble starch, the highest amylase activity for A. niger CA-3 was 24 units/ml while it was 27, 297 and 150 units/ml when grown on corn bran ('Dusa'), yam and banana peels respectively. Similarly, the highest amylase activities in the culture filterates of A. niger OR-5 grown on soluble starch, corn bran ('Dusa'), yam and banana peels were 36, 66, 222 and 144 units/ml respectively. The optimum concentration of yam peel powder for amylase production by A. niger CA-3 was 3.5% (w/v), while the optimum pH and temperature were 7.0 and 30°C respectively. It was concluded that yam peel was the best, and banana peel and corn bran ('Dusa') are also better substrates for amylase production by both strains than soluble starch.