Abstrakt: |
Solid waste management using biological methods, particularly microorganisms is widely used in many parts of the world because of their high degradation efficacy, environmentally friendly and less cost effective. In this present study, keratinase producing fungal strains were isolated from local soil samples using human hair as the substrate. A total of 15 species of fungi belongs to A. flavus, A. nidulans, A. luchensis and A. terreus, Trichoderma, Penicillium citrinum, Helminthosporium, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Chrysosporium and Rhizopus were isolated. Among the fungal strains, maximum enzyme production was recorded in Aspergillus niger and A. flavus which was confirmed by the drastic reduction of human hair loss. Among the various parameters tested, maximum enzyme production was observed at pH 8, temperature 40°C, inoculum size 1.0×108 spores/ml and 1.5% substrate. Further study will be helpful to utilize the fungal based keratinases as an effective, alternative and safe strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |