ABSTRACT
This study aims to isolate xylanase-producing fungi, i.e., Aspergillus flavus, isolated from the litter of theOrchha forest, and efforts are made to culture fungi on cheaper agricultural substrates, i.e., wheat bran and corncobs. After isolation, the xylanolytic activity was tested on the malt extract agar culture medium. Optimizationof growth parameters were also carried out with wheat bran and corn cobs. It was found that maximum xylanasewas produced on the sixthand eighth days of incubation, with pH of 6.0 and 7.0, and substrates amount for corncobs and wheat bran of 16 and 18 mg/ml, respectively. Temperature of 30°C, peptone concentration of 0.5 mg/ml, and yeast extract concentration of 0.75 mg/ml were the same for both substrates. The enzyme producedthrough optimized conditions was assayed for its maximum activity. It was found that the enzyme showedmaximum activity at 15 and 30 minutes of incubation, and at 60° and 55°C temperature for corn cobs andwheat bran, respectively. The pH and substrate (oat spelt xylan) concentrations were optimized at 5.5 and 15mg/ml, respectively. In. this study, the production of xylanase with the use of cheaper agricultural waste, suchas wheat bran and corn cobs, will not only reduce the cost of production but will also help in their eradicationfrom the environment.