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Objective: To evaluate serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) in patients with viral warts. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Dermatology Department, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jul to Dec 2020. Methodology: One hundred patients were included in the study, 50 with viral warts (Group-1) and 50 without warts (Group2). Our study included both male and female patients of 10 to 60 years of age. Three categories were made according to their serum vitamin D levels. First, all participants were tested for serum vitamin D levels using ELISA. Results: In Group-1, 20(40%) had insufficient, and 25(50%) had deficient vitamin D levels. A statistically significant decrease in serum 25-OHD levels (p = 0.004) was found in patients with viral warts. In Group-2, 9(18%) had insufficient, and 2(4%) had deficient vitamin D levels. The mean serum vitamin D level was 22.61±10.11 in Group-1 and 45.12±24.60 in Group-2, resulting in a significant difference between patients with viral warts and those without viral warts regarding serum vitamin D levels (p=0.004). Conclusion: Patients with viral warts have deficient vitamin D levels.

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to anxiety and depression in many communities across the United States. Here, we have focused on a sample of Houston-based Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) residents and assessed the prevalence of anxiety and depression in this community. The 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaires were used to identify the prevalence and severity of anxiety and depression, respectively. A sociodemographic, general health, and COVID-19 survey was used for a multivariable logistic regression model to determine predictors of anxiety and depression. The outcome of interest was “minimal/mild” versus “moderate/severe” anxiety and depression. A total of 368 participants completed the survey, with 24.73% reporting “moderate/severe” anxiety and 31.79% reporting “moderate/severe” depression. Male participants were less likely (OR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.12, 0.75) to have “moderate/severe” anxiety compared to females. Respondents with self-reported depression were more likely (OR = 3.41, 95% CI = 1.33, 8.83) to have “moderate/severe” depression. Participants who reported having “Excellent/Good knowledge” about the prevention of COVID-19 spread were less likely (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.15, 0.93) to have “moderate/severe” depression, and less likely (OR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.07, 0.64) to have “moderate/severe” anxiety, compared to those who had “average/poor/terrible” knowledge. Identified predictors may be critical for designing culturally sensitive interventions to improve the healthcare of MENA Americans.

Objective: To observe association of Melasma with serum Iron and complete blood count indices Study Design: Case-control cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Dermatology, HIT Hospital Taxila from 1st May 2021 to 1st October 2021 Methodology: Fifty seven females having melasma were taken as cases and 48 non-pregnant females without melasma as control between 12-50 years of age. Women with pregnancy, history of cardiac or thyroid disease and usage of hormone therapy, phototoxic drugs or anti-convulsant drugs were not included. History and examination was done by a dermatologist. Modified MASI (m Melasma Area and Severity Index) score was used for assessing severity of melasma. Blood samples were collected and send for serum Ferritin level, TIBC and Complete blood count in both groups. Results: The mean age of females were 35±7.4 years, and 48 female patients with no melasma were selected as controls with mean age of 25.7±8.4 years. We also analyzed the effect of different hematological and general factors on mMASI score within group of melasma patient but again found no statistically significant effect of any of these on MASI score. Conclusion: There is no direct association between melasma, serum iron levels and blood indices. Keywords: Melasma, Serum ferritin levels, Complete blood count

Background: Since beauty standards have widely change over the last few decades, women feel self-conscious about having unwanted hair that leads to low self-esteem and some develop depression. Although hirsutism can be emotionally distressing, it can be treated. Females have a lot of pressure to undergo painful procedures of hair removing like plucking, treading and creams that can temporarily remove or reduce the visibility of unwanted facial and body hair. In the past two decades of digital technology, lasers have modernized their use in the treatment of many skin conditions including hirsutism. As intense pulsed light is economical and more cost effective, it can be a more suitable option for those who cannot meet the high expenses of laser treatment. Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of intense pulsed light in females with hirsutism. Study Design: Place and Duration of Study: Department of Dermatology, HIT Hospital Taxila from 1st October 2020 to 30th September 2021. Methodology: Sixty patients of idiopathic hirsutism more than 15 years of age were enrolled. Both the history and examination were done. Diagnosis of idiopathic hirsutism was made on clinical examination using and necessary investigations. Those who had photosensitivity, hormonal therapy or hormonal disturbance, infertility, white hair hirsute, pregnancy, and history of keloid or hypertrophic scar were excluded from the study. Treatment was given for six sessions, with one month apart. Parameters of IPL were adjusted according to (Fitzpatrick) skin type, the density of hair, and fluency, the fluence will be increased subsequently depending upon the response of the patient. Post treatment, participants were evaluated and a 4-point scale was used to grade the results. Patients were told to revisit after 6 months to assess the regrowth of hair on face. Conclusion: Intense pulsed light is the cheap, effective and safe option for hirsutism that a third world country like ours needed where the socio-economic status is relatively low. Keywords: Idiopathic hirsutism, Intense pulsed light (IPL), Fitzpatrick skin type

Background: Psoriasis is a recurrent disfiguring skin disease, associated with abnormal lipid metabolism and with high occurrence of cardiovascular complications. This linked to the extent of disease, as it is often seen in those patients who have larger body areas involved with psoriasis. Objective: To estimate frequency of dyslipidemia in psoriatic patients and to determine the frequency of dyslipidemia in psoriatic patients based on the severity of disease. Study Design: Cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Dermatology, Fauji Foundation Hospital Rawalpindi from 1stMarch 2017 to 30th September 2017. Methodology: One hundred and fifty cases were enrolled. All cases were enrolled and 3ml of blood was collected following 12 hrs of fasting for determination of lipid profile. Blood sample was sent to the Hospital laboratory and reports were verified by senior pathologists. Severity of psoriasis was determined according to PASI score. Results: Age of participants was between 18-60 years with mean 38.88±12.26 years and 29 (19.33%) male and 121 (80.67%) female cases. According to severity of disease, 50 (33.3%) cases had mild, 70 (46.7%) had moderate and 30(20%) cases had severe Psoriasis. The mean cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) was 12.91 ± 2.17, 8.93 ± 2.90, 5.0 ± 2.28 and 1.98 ± 0.31 respectively. There were 100(66.7%) cases who had dyslipidemia and 50(33.3%) had normal lipid profile. Conclusion: Frequency of dyslipidemia is very high and is associated with severity of psoriasis. Keywords: Psoriasis, Dyslipidemia, Lipid profile and Cardiovascular disease.

Background: Serum ferritin is a good indicator of quantifying the risk of hair loss among women. Iron lead to low serum ferritin level; therefore, a low serum ferritin level can precisely point toward iron deficiency. Objectives: To determine the mean serum ferritin levels in female patients with androgenetic alopecia. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Dermatology, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi from 2nd October 2018 to 1st April 2019. Methodology: One hundred female patients with androgenic alopecia of all ages after puberty were included. Patients with scarring and other non-scarring alopecia, who had taken iron, vitamin B12, folic acid or multivitamin supplements, anticoagulants, anti-thyroid drugs, antimitotic drugs and oral contraceptives were excluded. After aseptic measures,5 ml of venous blood was drawn, into sterile and disposable plastic syringes. Serum ferritin was measured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test, based on sandwich ELISA. Results: Mean age was 33.94±6.29 years and 65 (65.0%) of patients ranged from 36 to 50 years. Average duration of disease was 6.25±2.43 months. Mean weight was 58.77±9.17 kg. Mean serum ferritin levels in female patients with androgenetic alopecia was 33.10±42.99ng/ml. Conclusion: Serum ferritin levels in female patients with androgenetic alopecia are low. Keywords: Androgenic alopecia, Serum ferritin levels

The aim of the study was to produce Ca2+ and Mg2+ independent raw starch hydrolyzing 1,4-α-d-glucan glucohydrolase (GGH) for glucose and fructose syrup production. A thermophilic GGH was produced from Aspergillus oryzae NRRL 1560. Two iso-forms of the enzyme, i.e., GGH1 and GGH2, were purified to homogeneity up to 4.93- and 8.82-fold that showed broad bands of 40 and 48 kDa on SDS-PAGE, respectively. Km and Vmax values of GGH2 were 1.315 mg mL−1 and 70.864 μmol mL−1 min−1, respectively. Enzyme showed optimum activity at 60 °C, pH 5.0. It displayed a broad range of pH (3.0–9.0) and temperature (30–60 °C) stability. Inactivation kinetics parameters were calculated as Kd = 0.014 min−1, t1/2 = 49.5 min, D = 164.5 min, z = 22.23 °C, Tm = 77 °C, and Ea(d) = 337.481 kJ/mol. Thermodynamics parameters for thermal unfolding were ΔG*(d) = 264.323, ΔH*(d) = 334.713 kJ/mol, and ΔS*(d) = 0.211 kJ/mol K. GGH2 was activated by 1 mM Na+ (18%), K+ (15%), Mg2+ (6%), Ca2+ (1%) and inhibited by Cu2+ (21%), Zn2+ (10%), Mn2+ (6%) at the same concentrations. The enzyme was also inhibited by 5 mM SDS (95%), DTT (8%), β-mercaptoethanol (4%), and EDTA (2%). GGH2-hydrolyzed raw starches were in the following order rice > wheat > corn > sweet potato > potato. This is the first report on raw starch digesting enzyme from A. oryzae. All these features make this enzyme a potential candidate for industrial production of glucose/fructose syrups and ethanol from raw starch via biological conversion.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a multifactorial disease, whose main stay of prevention and management is life-style modification which is difficult to attain. Combination of herbs have proven more efficacious in multi-targeted diseases, as compared to individual herbs owing to the “effect enhancing and side-effect neutralizing” properties of herbs, which forms the basis of polyherbal therapies This led us to review literature on the efficacy of herbal combinations in MetS.Methods: Electronic search of literature was conducted by using Cinnahl, Pubmed central, Cochrane and Web of Science, whereas, Google scholar was used as secondary search tool. The key words used were “metabolic syndrome, herbal/poly herbal,” metabolic syndrome, clinical trial” and the timings were limited between 2005–2020.Results: After filtering and removing duplications by using PRISMA guidelines, search results were limited to 41 studies, out of which 24 studies were evaluated for combinations used in animal models and 15 in clinical trials related to metabolic syndrome. SPICE and SPIDER models were used to assess the clinical trials, whereas, a checklist and a qualitative and a semi-quantitative questionnaire was formulated to report the findings for animal based studies. Taxonomic classification of Poly herbal combinations used in animal and clinical studies was designed.Conclusion: With this study we have identified the potential polyherbal combinations along with a proposed method to validate animal studies through systematic qualitative and quantitative review. This will help researchers to study various herbal combinations in MetS, in the drug development process and will give a future direction to research on prevention and management of MetS through polyherbal combinations.

Objectives: The study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the prescribers' approach of interaction with medical representatives for drug promotion. Methods: An explanatory, cross-sectional design was used to evaluate prescribers' interactions with the medical sales representatives (MSRs) through an anonymous, self-filled questionnaire from June to December 2017. Data presented as means±SEM or as percentages and statistically analyzed by one way ANOVA, using significance level of 0.05. Results: A response rate of 82.8% was achieved. More than 70% agreed that knowledge obtained from MSRs is reliable and useful. A large proportion of respondents acknowledged that MSRs are a key link between pharmaceutical companies and health care professionals, and their interactions are beneficial as MSRs perform an important teaching function. More than 45% agreed that gifts are influential; however, physicians cannot be compromised with very expensive gifts. The majority of the respondents (76%) considered that promotional items are ethically appropriate; however, 66.21% thought that promotional items influence the practice of prescribing. More than half (52.18%) deemed a promotional material more reliable than a printed advertisement. More than 80% of the respondents opined that medication samples are considered appropriate; however, they should only be given to those patients who cannot financially afford them. Around 69% thought that company-sponsored meetings promote their own drugs under the disguise of CME programs. Conclusion: The present study emphasizes the importance of employing scientifically sound prescribing decision by prescribers in their day to day practice without being influenced by pharmaceutical company's promotional activities. There is a need for restricting unprincipled practices by the concerned regulatory authorities to evade preventable harm to the patient's well-being.

Cell lysate of Escherichia coli strain BL21 showed significant D-glucose isomerase activity. The rate of glucose conversion was increased up to 40% when cells were induced with 1% D-xylose. E. coli BL21 xylose isomerase (ECXI-BL21) was purified to homogeneity, up to 1.9-fold with overall 10.88% enzyme yield by heat shock, salting out and electro-elution. The molecular mass of ECXI-BL21 was estimated as 43.9 kDa on SDS-PAGE. pH(opt.) and T(opt.) of the enzyme were calculated as 7.0 and 50 °C, respectively. Activation energy (E(a)) of ECXI-BL21 was 45 kJ/mol. Enzyme was stable from 30 to 55 °C and at pH range 6.0–8.0. ECXI-BL21((holo)) was activated by 10 mM magnesium (35%), 0.5 mM cobalt (20%) and manganese (25%), and 0.5/10 mM Mn(2+)/Mg(2+) (50%) and Co(2+)/Mg(2+) (30%) as compared to ECXI-BL21((apo)). Catalytic affinity (K(m)) of ECXI-BL21 for D-glucose was calculated as 0.82 mM, while maximum velocity (V(max)) of the reaction D-glucose((aldo)) ⇌ D-fructose((keto)) was 108 μmol/mg/min. D-fructose formed was identified on silica gel plate. This thermophilic enzyme, T(m) = 75 °C, has great potential for high fructose syrup production used in food and soft drink industries.

Background The β-1, 4-endoglucanase belongs to cellulases group of enzymes, which hydrolyse β-1, 4 glucosidic bonds in the naturally occurring cellulose or synthetic Carboxymethyl cellulose CMC thus also named as CMCase. Endoglucanase from Aspergillus oryzae is favoured in food and feed industries due to its GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status and for relatively stable enzymes production. Results Current report is novel as it deals with the development of super Koji strain having hyper production of thermostable CMCases. Hence, the potent Koji’s mutant, hyper producer of thermostable endoglucanase was screened from the available mutants stock (Total = 52 variants), which was generated through gamma rays treatment of Super Koji strain (A. oryzae cmc1). Initially, seventeen (17) mutants hyper producer of CMCases were selected based on the basis of clearance zone index (CI) on the plates supplemented with 1% CMC. Afterwards, six mutants resistant to 2-deoxy-D-glucose were selected having enhanced CMCase production. Mutants’ next screening was on submerged CMCase production. Potent mutant 60(5) having 60 kRad γ-rays exposure showed 3.6 folds hyper CMCase production (6.02 U ml-1). The half-life of endoglucanse produce of A. oryzae mutant 60(5) was 29.42 min and 14.8 min at 55 ⁰C and 60 ⁰C, respectively, which was 4 folds higher than the control at 60 ⁰C. The LC-MS analysis showed that A. oryzae mutant 60(5) does not produce aflatoxins. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESM) of mutated Koji depicted that gamma radiations enhanced the stiffness of fungal mycelia. Kinetics of CMCase production by mutant 60(5) in 10 L and 200L fermenter was as: CMCase = 913 U dl-1 & 821 U dl-1; Specific growth (µ) = 0.064 & 0.082 hours; Cell mass doubling time (td) = 10.71 & 8.42 hours; Yield coefficient with respect to cell mass (Yp/x) = 59 Ug-1 & 89 U g-1 and Specific rate of CMCase production (qp) = 3.84 Ug-1h-1 & 7.37 Ug-1h-1 respectively. Conclusion We concluded, γ-rays induced potent mutations in mutant 60(5) resulting in hyper production of thermostable endoglucanase, which can withstand harsh industrial conditions. Hence, has great potential for applications in food & feed and other industrial processes.

Terpenoids are the most essential compounds biosynthesized by plants as secondary metabolites. It is a diverse and vast class of naturally occurring organic compounds and are the derivatives of terpenes having simple and multi-cyclic rings in their structure. These are though found in small/trace amounts in plants, but they play an indispensable role in the survival of plants in the environment. These are used by the plants as a shield against internal and external stresses and for many of the basic functions in the development and growth and by humans as anti-bacterial agents, as anti-carcinogenic agents, as flavors, fragrances and drugs. This review paper will explain the extraction and isolation of terpenoids from different parts of plants i.e. leaves, stem, roots and other vegetal parts of plants. Further the review will focus on the structural characterization of terpenoids extracted from plants by different researchers and the methods they used for the separation and structural characterization of these compounds and their structures drawn with the help of NMR data. The extracted and characterized compounds were terpenoids, triterpenoids, nortriterpenoids, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and macro cyclic monoterpenes. These compounds were checked for their medicinal activity, cytotoxicity and their bioassay were also considered, where these compounds showed that they can be used as medicinal compounds as well as the bioassay confirmed their role as protective agents of the plants. Overall, eleven research articles have been considered in this review and the focus is on the novel terpenoids that have been extracted, isolated and characterized by different means. Apart from novel terpenoids the other known compounds have been studied and their activity has also been reported. Keywords: Terpenoids, Characterization, Extraction, NMR, Plant.

A 1.3 kb xyl-A gene encoding xylose isomerase from a hyperthermophilic eubacterium Thermotoga naphthophila RKU-10 (TnapXI) was cloned and over-expressed in Escherichia coli to produce the enzyme in mesophilic conditions that work at high temperature. The enzyme was concentrated by lyophilization and purified by heat treatment, fractional precipitation, and UNOsphere Q anion-exchange column chromatography to homogeneity level. The apparent molecular mass was estimated by SDS-PAGE to be 49.5 kDa. The active enzyme showed a clear zone on Native-PAGE when stained with 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride. The optimum temperature and pH for D-glucose to D-fructose isomerization were 98 °C and 7.0, respectively. Xylose isomerase retains 85% of its activity at 50 °C (t1/2 1732 min) for 4 h and 32.5% at 90 °C (t1/2 58 min) for 2 h. It retains 90-95% of its activity at pH 6.5-7.5 for 30 min. The enzyme was highly activated (350%) with the addition of 0.5 mM Co(2+) and to a lesser extent about 180 and 80% with the addition of 5 and 10 mM Mn(2+) and Mg(2+) , respectively but it was inhibited (54-90%) in the presence of 0.5-10 mM Ca(2+) with respect to apo-enzyme. D-glucose isomerization product was also analyzed by Thin Layer Chromatography (Rf 0.65). The enzyme was very stable at neutral pH and sufficiently high temperature and required only a trace amount of Co(2+) for its optimal activity and stability. Overall, 52.2% conversion of D-glucose to D-fructose was achieved by TnapXI. Thus, it has a great potential for industrial applications.

Objectives: The study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the prescribers’ approach of interaction with medical representatives for drug promotion. Methods: An explanatory, cross-sectional design was used to evaluate prescribers’ interactions with the medical sales representatives (MSRs) through an anonymous, self-filled questionnaire from June to December 2017. Data presented as means±SEM or as percentages and statistically analyzed by one way ANOVA, using significance level of 0.05. Results: A response rate of 82.8% was achieved. More than 70% agreed that knowledge obtained from MSRs is reliable and useful. A large proportion of respondents acknowledged that MSRs are a key link between pharmaceutical companies and health care professionals, and their interactions are beneficial as MSRs perform an important teaching function. More than 45% agreed that gifts are influential; however, physicians cannot be compromised with very expensive gifts. The majority of the respondents (76%) considered that promotional items are ethically appropriate; however, 66.21% thought that promotional items influence the practice of prescribing. More than half (52.18%) deemed a promotional material more reliable than a printed advertisement. More than 80% of the respondents opined that medication samples are considered appropriate; however, they should only be given to those patients who cannot financially afford them. Around 69% thought that company-sponsored meetings promote their own drugs under the disguise of CME programs. Conclusion: The present study emphasizes the importance of employing scientifically sound prescribing decision by prescribers in their day to day practice without being influenced by pharmaceutical company’s promotional activities. There is a need for restricting unprincipled practices by the concerned regulatory authorities to evade preventable harm to the patient’s well-being.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate different solid substrates and moistening agents for the production of an extracellular 1, 4-α-D-glucan glucohydrolase from a newly isolated Aspergillus oryzae IIB-6 by solid state fermentation and optimization of culture conditions for the maximal production of enzyme. Study Design: Six different agro-industrial waste residues (rice straw, rice bran, corn flakes, wheat bran, wheat flakes, and grinded wheat kernel) were procured from the local market. These substrates (10 g) were moistened (1:1) with different moistening agents (distilled water, tap water, mineral salts solution (FeSO4.7H2O 0.02, MgSO4.7H2O 1.0, (NH4)2SO4 4.0, KH2PO4 0.6, K2HPO4 1.4 mg/gds at pH 5), 0.1 N HCl, sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.5), sodium phosphate buffer pH 7.5) and screened for the production of 1,4-αD-glucan glucohydrolase for 96 hours in static cultures. The substrate and moistening agent that gave maximum enzyme production were selected and their fermentation conditions were further optimized. Place and Duration of Study: Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (IIB), GC University Lahore, Kachery Road Lahore, Pakistan, between February 2011 and March 2012. Methodology: The levels of selected solid substrate, moistening agent and fermentation conditions such as pH, temperature, time of incubation, inoculum size etc. were optimized Original Research Article British Biotechnology Journal, 4(4): 350-365, 2014 351 by one variable at a time method. Results: Wheat bran at the level of 5 g and mineral salts solution containing FeSO4.7H2O 0.016, MgSO4.7H2O 0.8, (NH4)2SO4 3.5, KH2PO4 0.48, K2HPO4 1.12 mg/gds gave relatively best enzyme production. The maximum enzyme activity 7800 U/gds (407 Umg protein) were achieved when wheat bran with 80% moisture content was incubated at 30°C, pH 5, after inoculating with 10% spore suspension (1.2×10 CFU/gds) for 72 h. Conclusion: Aspergillus oryzae IIB-6 was a good producer of 1,4-α-D-glucan glucohydrolase in wheat bran medium containing mineral salts as an additional trace elements so that it can be used for biotechnological purposes.

A 1.3 kb xyl-A gene encoding xylose isomerase from a hyperthermophilic eubacterium Thermotoga naphthophila RKU-10 (TnapXI) was cloned and over-expressed in Escherichia coli to produce the enzyme in mesophilic conditions that work at high temperature. The enzyme was concentrated by lyophilization and purified by heat treatment, fractional precipitation, and UNOsphere Q anion-exchange column chromatography to homogeneity level. The apparent molecular mass was estimated by SDS-PAGE to be 49.5 kDa. The active enzyme showed a clear zone on Native-PAGE when stained with 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride. The optimum temperature and pH for D-glucose to D-fructose isomerization were 98 °C and 7.0, respectively. Xylose isomerase retains 85% of its activity at 50 °C (t1/2 1732 min) for 4 h and 32.5% at 90 °C (t1/2 58 min) for 2 h. It retains 90-95% of its activity at pH 6.5-7.5 for 30 min. The enzyme was highly activated (350%) with the addition of 0.5 mM Co(2+) and to a lesser extent about 180 and 80% with the addition of 5 and 10 mM Mn(2+) and Mg(2+) , respectively but it was inhibited (54-90%) in the presence of 0.5-10 mM Ca(2+) with respect to apo-enzyme. D-glucose isomerization product was also analyzed by Thin Layer Chromatography (Rf 0.65). The enzyme was very stable at neutral pH and sufficiently high temperature and required only a trace amount of Co(2+) for its optimal activity and stability. Overall, 52.2% conversion of D-glucose to D-fructose was achieved by TnapXI. Thus, it has a great potential for industrial applications.

A new trematode genus Astioglossimetra n. gen. has been erected to accommodate an undescribed species A. karachiensis n. gen., n. sp., from Chelonia mydas of the Karachi coast. The genus name refers to its relation to the genera Astiotrema Looss and Glossimetra Mehra of the family Plagiorchiidae and subfamily Astiotrematinae.

Sixteen different mould cultures viz. Aspergillus, Alternaria, Arthroderma, Trichoderma, Fusarium, Penicillium, Rhizopus and Chochliobolus were isolated from the soil samples of Qatar by serial dilution method. The preliminary screening of isolates was done by selecting initial colonies showing relatively bigger zones of starch hydrolysis on nutrient agar plates. The isolates were then subjected to secondary screening by submerged fermentation (SmF). The 1,4-α-D-glucan glucohydrolase (GGH) activity ranged from 1.906-12.675 U/ml/min. The product yield was analysed in dependence of mycelial morphology, biomass level and protein content. The isolate Aspergillus oryzae llB-6 which gave maximum enzyme production was incubated in M3 medium containing 20 g/l starch, 10 g/l lactose, 8.5 g/l yeast extract, 6 g/l corn steep liquor (CSL), 1.2 g/l MgSO4.7H2O, 1.3 g/l NH4Cl, 0.6 g/l CaCl2.2H2O, pH 5 at 30±2°C and 200 rpm. On the basis of kinetic variables, notably Qp (0.058±0.01(a) U/g/h), Yp/s (0.308±0.03(ab) U/g) and qp (0.210±0.032(abc) U/g fungal biomass/h), A. oryzae IIB-6 was found to be a hyper producer of GGH (LSD 0.0345) compared to A. kawachii IIB-2. A noticeable enhancement in enzyme activity of over 30% was observed (13.917±1.01 U/ml/min) when the process parameters viz. cultural conditions (pH 5, incubation period 72 h) and nutritional requirements (6 g/l CSL, 9.5 g/l yeast extract, 10 g/l starch, 20 g/l lactose) were further optimized using a 2-factorial Plackett-Burman design. The model terms were found to be highly significant (HS, p≤0.05), indicating the potential utility of the culture (dof~3).