Production of Amylase from Agro-Industrial Wastes by Using Thermophilic Actinomycetes

Abstract

The aim of this research is to study the production of amylase by microbial action over the industrial and agricultural wastes. Actinomycetes are facultative thermophilic group of grampositive bacteria which produce the antibiotics and a range of hydrolytic enzymes including amylases, proteases and lipases. This study describes the preliminary screening of six strains of actinomycetes isolated from indigenous sources (AH-I to AH-VI) for the production of amylases. Qualitative and quantitative tests suggested that strain AH-II was the best as a source of extra cellular amylases. Effect of metal ions on the growth and amylase production and the optimization of conditions like pH, temperature, agitation speed etc. (e.g., 7.5, 60 ºC and 150 rpm, respectively) for the maximum amylase production were also assessed.