Search

A new naringinase-producing strain, Jmudeb007 was indentified by means of morphological observation, gene homogeneous analysis and physiological and biochemical test. Its characteristics in expressing naringinase were investigated by batch culture in 7 L fermentors. Jmudeb007 grown white, circular, convex, and smooth edged colonies, and single, oval-shaped and nucleus contained cells. Its gene sequences of 26S rDNA D1/D2 region and 5.8S rDNA-ITS region both showed homogeneities at 99% to Williopsis californica. It appeared positive in glucose fermentation test, negative in urease test and diazo blue B (DBB) test. Strain Jmudeb007 was identified to W. californica. Cultivation of Jmudeb007 with three media containing different amount of glucose showed it was capable of expressing naringinase which hydrolyze naringin to naringenin. The naringinase synthesis of Jmudeb007 was regulated by glucose which depended on the concentration. Jumdeb007 could express naringinase in medium containing glucose no more than 4 g/L. The present work provides a new source of naringinase, W. californica Jmudeb007, which is non-pathogenic, convenient to conduct breeding operation, easy to develop fermentation process. It is the first report about yeast that can produce naringinase, which help to explore naringinase and other glycosidase from yeast.

To achieve an efficient separation and purification of α-L-rhamnosidase (Rha) from naringinase (Nar) that was prepared from a fermented broth of Aspergillus niger, improved experimental methods were developed with aid of a chemical dithiothreitol (DTT) and a novel HPLC method. The addition of DTT did not negatively affect the purification of Rha and Nar, but greatly simplified the purification steps due to its strong capability of separating the Rha from Nar. The novel HPLC method enabled simultaneous measurement and differentiation of the Rha and the Nar with the naringin as the substrate. These improvements resulted in an efficient purification of the homogenous Rha with an estimated molecular weight of 87 kDa. Otherwise, Rha could not be extracted with enough purity even by the combination of sulphate precipitation, ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. The modified methods have ensured efficient purification of the Rha from A. niger naringinase. This study provides a powerful and simple procedure to separate and purify the Rha of Nar, which will facilitate further more in-depth studies of these enzymes, as well as their industrial applications.

An extracellular naringinase (an enzyme complex consisting of α-L-rhamnosidase and β-D-glucosidase activity, EC 3.2.1.40) that hydrolyses naringin (a trihydroxy flavonoid) for the production of rhamnose and glucose was purified from the culture filtrate of Aspergillus niger 1344. The enzyme was purified 38-fold by ammonium sulphate precipitation, ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography with an overall recovery of 19% with a specific activity of 867 units per mg of protein. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be about 168 kDa by gel filtration chromatography on a Sephadex G-200 column and the molecular mass of the subunits was estimated to be 85 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulphate-Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The enzyme had an optimum pH of 4.0 and temperature of 50 °C, respectively. The naringinase was stable at 37 °C for 72 h, whereas at 40 °C the enzyme showed 50% inactivation after 96 h of incubation. Hg2+, SDS, p-chloromercuribenzoate, Cu2+ and Mn2+ completely inhibited the enzyme activity at a concentration of 2.5–10 mM, whereas, Ca2+, Co2+ and Mg2+ showed very little inactivation even at high concentrations (10–100 mM). The enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by rhamnose, the end product of naringin hydrolysis. The enzyme activity was accelerated by Mg2+ and remained stable for one year after storage at −20 °C. The purified enzyme preparation successfully hydrolysed naringin and rutin, but not hesperidin.

Penicillium decumbens PTCC 5248 produced naringinase when grown in a medium contained naringin as a source of carbon. Rhamnose also induced production of naringinase. Prunin disappeared as the time of enzymatic reaction increased. On fractionation with isopropanol 24-fold purification was achieved. Optimum pH and temperature for naringinase activity were determined to be 4.5 and 55 °C respectively. The Km value of the enzyme with respect to naringin was found to be 1.7 mM. Citric acid, glucose, Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+ all inhibited naringinase activity.

A new Penicillium ulaiense strain showed carboxymethylcellulase, pectinase, protease on skim milk and naringinase activities, but no xylanase, cellulase, lipase, amylase, protease on gelatin, and ligninase activities. Studies in liquid medium showed low quantities of pectinases. No mycotoxins were detected.

Naringinase produced by Penicillum decombens PTCC 5248 was immobilized by entrapping it in calcium alginate beads, hen egg white, gelatin open pore matrix and covalently attaching it to activated seeds of Ocimum basilicum. Optimum pH and temperature were found to be 4, 4.5, 4.5, 3.5 and 65 °C, 60 °C respectively for enzyme immobilized by each technique mentioned. Naringinase immobilized onto activated seeds of Ocimum basilicum was active for 7 days.