A Potential Resource in Fructose Production from Inulin: Aspergillus wentii Inulinase

One of the enzymes which have a vast area of usage in industry is the inulinases. Inulinase enzyme is is used in industrial processes such as the production of inulooligosaccharide, gluconic acid and fructooligosaccharide, which is a low calorie sweetener. Inulinases are produced by ferment, filamentous fungus and bacteria. Enzymes produced by fungi have industrial advantages, since they are extracellular and regained easily due to fermentation environment. In this study, inulinase production from Aspergillus wentii, which is a new resource for inulinase enzyme, and optimization of enzyme production conditions were aimed. It was determined that enzyme production duratio n of A. wentii, which was determined to produce inulinase in modified screening medium by using Jerusalem artichoke powder was 3 days, production temperature was 25 °C, and initial pH was 6.0. When the effect of carbon and nitrogen included in the production media was analyzed, it was observed that the highest activity took place in the environment, which includes 3.0% Jerusalem artichoke. The production environment which includes 1% (NH4)2HPO4 was determined to be a better resource than other nitrogen resources. With these properties, A. wentii inulinase was determined as an assessable resource for future studies in the preparation of pure fructose from agricultural products.