Recent developments in microbial inulinases - Its production, properties, and industrial applications

Microbial inulinases are an important class of industrial enzymes that have gained much attention recently. Inulinases can be produced by a host of mi croorganisms, including fungi, yeast, and bacteria. Among them, however, As pergillus sp. (filamentous fungus) and Kluyveromyces sp. (diploid yeast) ar e apparently the preferred choices for commercial applications. Among vario us substrates (carbon source) employed for their production, inulin-contain ing plant materials offer advantages in comparison to pure substrates. Alth ough submerged fermentation has been universally used as the technique of f ermentation, attempts are being made to develop solid-state fermentation te chnology also. Inulinases catalyze the hydrolysis of inulin to D-fructose ( fructose syrup), which has gained an important place in human diets today. In addition, inulinases are finding other newer applications. This article reviews more recent developments, especially those made in the past decade, on microbial inulinases-its production using various microorganisms and su bstrates. It also describes the characteristics of various forms of inulina ses produced as well as their applications.