ABSTRACT
Solid state fermentation (SSF) was carried out for the production of Lglutaminase by the fungal strain Trichoderma koningii using sesamum oil cake as the solid substrate. L-glutaminase has received significant attention in recent years owing to its potential applications in medicine as an anticancer agent, as an efficient anti-retroviral agent and as a biosensor. In food industries it is used as a flavor and aroma enhancing agent. The overall maximum yield of L-glutaminase (19.41 U/gds) was achieved with the optimized process parameters of initial moisture content 65%, initial pH of the medium 7.0, supplemented with Dmaltose (1.0% w/v) and malt extract (1.0% w/v), inoculated with 2ml of 6 day old fungal culture and incubated at 33°C for 5 days. Both physico-chemical and nutritional parameters had played a significant role in the production of the enzyme, L-glutaminase. The enzyme production was found to be growth associated with the growth of the fungal culture.