Isolation and characterization of cholesterol degrading bacteria from soap and vegetable oil industrial waste

508-513The cholesterol degrading bacteria were isolated and characterized from the soap and vegetable oil industrial wastes. Fifteen strains were isolated by the primary screening. Among the fifteen, only three strains were identified as cholesterol oxidase enzyme producers. The morphological and biochemical characters revealed that the isolated microorganisms were Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp. and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Sterptomyces sp. The isolated microorganisms were grown in a cholesterol medium and their degrading potency of cholesterol was determined by TLC, FTIR and HPLC. The cholesterol oxidase (CHO) extracted from the isolates was partially purified and the molecular mass was determined to be about 55-60 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature for CHO activity of the three isolates was evaluated. The present study revealed that the isolates (Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp. and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Streptomyces sp.) isolated from the industrial wastes had good cholesterol degrading potential and would be considered as good source of CHO for important medical applications