Isolation and characterization of high invertase-producing Saccharomyces species from palm wine

Palm wine, a traditional West African beverage, contains diverse microbial communities, including yeasts with valuable biotechnological potentials. This study investigated intracellular invertase production by Saccharomyces species isolated from palm wine samples collected across six locations in the Owo metropolitan area. Yeast cells were disrupted using three methods—mechanical grinding, sonication, and autolysis—to extract intracellular invertase. Enzyme activity was quantified by measuring reducing sugars released from sucrose hydrolysis using the DNSA assay. Among the methods tested, mechanical grinding proved most effective for enzyme extraction. The yeast isolates from Location A exhibited the highest specific activity (200 U/mL/mg protein) among all samples. Morphological and biochemical characterization identified four isolates as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, Saccharomyces uvarum, and Saccharomyces fibuligera, with S. cerevisiae (C1) being the most abundant, accounting for 50% of the yeast population. This study highlights the diversity of high-invertase-producing Saccharomyces spp. in palm wine and establishes an efficient method for intracellular enzyme extraction, offering promising prospects for industrial applications. Key words: Enzymes, invertase, microbial, high fructose syrup, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.