Effects of Surfactants and Microwave-assisted Pretreatment of Orange Peel on Extracellular Enzymes Production by Aspergillus japonicus PJ01

The effects of surfactants and microwave pretreatment of orange peel powder (OPP) on the production of pectinase, cellulase, and xylanase by Aspergillus japonicus PJ01 in submerged fermentation were investigated. The results showed that when OPP was pretreated only by microwave (630 W, 9 min, and liquid/solid ratio 5), the activities of exo-pectinase, carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase), xylanase, and filter paper cellulase (FPase) were increased by 11.8, 20.6, 16.2, and 24.0 %, respectively, and when OPP was pretreated by microwave at the same conditions cited above plus PEG 4000 at the concentration of 3 g/L, the activities of the above four enzymes were enhanced by 40.2, 30.3, 40.4, and 40.0 % after 84-h cultivation, respectively. It is suggested a synergistic effect between microwave and surfactant treatment in enhancing the multiextracellular enzymes production by OPP fermentation of A. japonicus PJ01. Chemical composition and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis displayed that the microwave pretreatment of OPP led to the decrease of hemicellulose and essential oil contents. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that OPP surface after microwave pretreatment became porous and more susceptible to be invaded by A. japonicus. The results demonstrated that pretreatment of OPP by surfactant PEG 4000 and microwave irradiation as environment-friendly way was cost-effective in enhancing the multienzyme production from agricultural waste orange peel.