Production of a potential collagenolytic protease by nejayote fermentation with Aspergillus oryzae

Nejayote is the wastewater obtained from maize lime cooking. It was used for Aspergillus oryzae growth and enzyme production. Protein production and collagenolytic activity were evaluated to test the effects of pH, spore inoculum and nejayote content in a 3³ factorial design. No collagenolytic activity was observed in the supernatant of the fermentation without nejayote. Using nejayote at 5% increased 1.5 times the fungus growth in comparison with nejayote 1% and 3%; and the maximum collagenolytic activity was reached after 3 days at pH 8 (P ' 0.05). After sequencing, a 32 kDa alkaline protease was identified. Along with the alkaline conditions produced by the inclusion of nejayote solids, this waste is an important source of carbohydrates that improved the growth of A. oryzae to produce a protease that has the potential to break collagen. This permits a prospective revalorisation of a waste material to get a product with multiple biotechnological uses.