Isolation and screening of new mould strains able for inulinase biosynthesis and inulin from Jerusalem artichoke hydrolysis

Abstract

Inulin, a widespread polyfructan in plants, is of great interest as it is a relatively inexpensive and abundant substrate for the production of fructose syrups and bioethanol. The aim of this work was to isolate some inulinase producing moulds and to investigate their ability to produce extracellular inulinases and to hydrolyze the Jerusalem artichoke substrate.
Five moulds were isolated from different sources and tested for inulinase production. Three of them had inulinase activity, ranging from 0.01 to 1.76 UI. Three of the isolated moulds were tested for Jerusalem artichoke hydrolysis.