Saccharification of agro-waste materials by fungal cellulases and hemicellulases

Saccharification of agro-wastes by cellulases and hemicellulases from two fungal isolates, Sporotrichum pruinosum and Arthrographis sp., was investigated. The highest degree of hydrolysis (15•1% for Sporotrichum pruinosum and 7.5% for Arthrographis sp.) was observed with melon seed shells. Alkali pretreatment of substrates significantly enhanced (P<0•05) their susceptibility to hydrolysis (24–53% increase in yield). HPLC analysis of soluble products of cellulolysis revealed a predominance of glucose and a trace of cellobiose. Products of xylanolysis were mainly xylooligo-saccharides and xylobiose with traces of xylose and arabinose.