Enzymatic clarification of bael juice by calcium alginate gel immobilized PME of <i>Aspergillus oryzae</i>

504-507The production of pectin methyl esterase (PME) was investigated on solid substrate fermentation of Aspergillus oryzae. The optimum conditions of PME production were 30°C, incubation for 3 days and hydration of wheat bran 50% (w/v) . The partially purified PME was then immobilized by 2% sodium alginate by crosslinking with 2% CaCl2 solution, retaining 68% of the activity of free PME. Optimum pH for free and immobilized PME was 3.6 and 4.0 respecti vely. Optimum temperature was the same for free and immobilized PME. Michaelis constant for free and immobili zed PME was 0.7% and 0.6% respecti vely. The immobilized PME retained about 72% of the initial activity after being used for 10 cycles for the clarification of Bael juice