Isolation, Identification, and Screening of Citric Acid-Producing Fungi from Fermented Orange, Pawpaw, and Banana Peels
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Date
2024-07-26
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Cameroon Biosciences Society
Abstract
The high demand for citric acid in diverse industries is increasing annually. Fruit peels which serve as wastes can be
utilized as valuable substrates for cultivating fungi that can be used to produce citric acid through fermentation. The
present study was conducted to isolate, identify, and screen citric acid-producing fungi from selected fruit peels.
Orange, pawpaw, and banana peels were obtained from Ipata market, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. They were rinsed,
dried, and pulverized. Submerged fermentation of the peels was carried out for 14 days to isolate naturally occurring
fungi. The peels were fermented singly and combined as pawpaw and orange, pawpaw and banana and banana and
orange. Isolation was performed using the pour plate method, identification was made using macroscopic and
microscopic characteristics of the isolates, while screening for citric acid was done using Czapek-dox agar and
bromocresol green as indicator. The highest fungal count was obtained from fermented pawpaw peels (49.0 ± 2.83 x 103
cfu/g), while banana peels had 43.00 ± 0.71 x 103 cfu/g and orange peels 40.50 ± 0.71 x 103 cfu/g. Fermented banana
and orange peels had the highest fungal count of 38.00 ± 1.41 x 103 cfu/g, while fermented pawpaw and orange peels
had a fungal count of 28.00 ± 1.41 x 103 cfu/g. A total of five fungi were isolated and identified as Aspergillus niger,
Fusarium sp, Aspergillus flavus, Mucor sp, and Penicillium sp. Four of the fungal isolates screened positively with yellow
halos surrounding the colonies except for Fusarium sp. which screened negatively. Aspergillus niger had the highest
zone of yellow coloration with a diameter of 41.00 mm, followed by Penicillium sp. (33.00 mm), Mucor sp (29.00 mm),
and A. flavus (0 mm). It can be concluded that orange, pawpaw, and banana peels are potential substrates for
cultivating citric acid-producing fungi and A. niger screened best for citric acid production.
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Citation
30. Ajiboye, A.E., Yusuf, N.A. and Adesokan, T.E. (2024). Isolation, Identification, and Screening of Citric Acid-Producing Fungi from Fermented Orange, Pawpaw and Banana Peels. Cameroon Journal of Biological and Biochemical Sciences, 32, 18-26.