Enhanced glucosamine production through synergistic action of Aspergillus terreus chitozymes

Chitin rich wastes generated from seafood processing industries have become critical concern for coastal area pollution however their transformation into glucosamine (GlcN) could be considered as a value-addition approach. Although, GlcN production through chemical means is in wide practice but, harsh reaction conditions and variable product quality led to urge of biological synthesis. Moreover, the enzymatic means of production need to be explored further to achieve increased production levels of chitozymes that could be employed for GlcN generation. The present study is aimed to develop an integrated process comprised of chemo-thermal pretreatment (to overcome chitin recalcitrance) followed by enzymatic hydrolysis through myco-chitozymes to augment chitin degradation for production of high GlcN titres. Aspergillus terreus has been observed to produce comparatively high titres of chitinase (229 Ul(-1)), chitosanase (35 Ul(-1)) and GlcN (213 mg l(-1)) from shrimp shell chitin as compared to Fusarium pallidoroseum. Utilization of sulphuric acid (2%, w/v) in combination of thermal pretreatment (121 degrees C, 15 psi, 60 min) was appeared as the most effective pretreatment strategy and resulted into enhanced chitinase (320 Ul(-1)) and chitosanase (58 Ul(-1)) production. Augmentation of GlcN production (772 mg l(-1)) was achieved by synergistic action of chitinase and chitosanase at 2:1 ratio onto pretreated chitin. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) revealed significant production of GlcN via enzymatic hydrolysis. Enhancement in GlcN production through developed chemo-enzymatic method not only provides an eco-friendly, sustainable solution to reduce coastal area pollution but also paves the way to ameliorate industrial production of GlcN in an economic way. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.