Cocoa shell as a substrate for obtaining endoglucanase and xylanase from Aspergillus oryzae ATCC 10124

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of cocoa shell as an alternative substrate for the production of endoglucanase and xylanase by Aspergillus orizae ATCC 10124 in solid-state fermentation. The fermentation assays were performed using cocoa shells humidified with distilled water. The parameters incubation temperature, water activity and fermentation time were optimized by using a Box-Behnken design. The maximum activities achieved for endoglucanases and xylanases were 0.846 and 0.945 U g(-1) at 35 degrees C, with a water activity equal to 0.9 and an incubation time of 96 hours.