PRODUCTION OF AMYLASE FROM CUCUMIS MELO USING ASPERGILLUS NIGER BY LIQUID FERMENTATION

Submerged fermentation was carried out using muskmelon shell as a substrate for the production of amylase using Aspergillus niger. It was observed that the activity started to peak at 60 hrs as 102.6 µg/ml/min, reached maximum at 118.56µg/ml/min at the 84th hrs and then went on decreasing at 108 hrs to111.72 µg/ml/min, respectively. The results show that the amylase activity was decreasing after the 3rd day of incubation in the same optimal conditions. The optimum temperature maintained for amylase activity, was 30°C at pH 8.The process parameters influencing the production of α-amylase were optimized. Key words: Cucumis melo, Aspergillus niger, α-Amylase, Submerged Fermentation