Xylanase production on pretreated date seed powder in solid state fermentation by Penicillium citrinum

Xylanase has been used for bioconversion processes and has been applied in several industrial processes. The increased production cost of enzymes remains the bottleneck for commercial production of lignocellulosic enzymes. The application of agricultural waste as a culture medium is a major strategy to improve xylanase production and reduce production costs. In this study, date seed powder was pretreated with sulfuric acid, and the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents were 24.4±0.12%, 43.1±1.3%, and 23.5±0.3%, respectively. The moisture content of the date seed powder was 7.49±0.12%. The pretreated date seed powder was used as the substrate for xylanase production by Penicillium citrinum solid-state fermentation. The moisture content, pH, and inoculum were optimized for xylan production, and the optimum conditions were 45% moisture content, pH 5.5, and 3% inoculum concentration. The maximum xylanase production was found to be 605.3 U/g.