Enhanced production of maltase (α-glucosidase) from newly isolated strain of Bacillus licheniformis KIBGE-IB4

Maltase (alpha-glucosidase) hydrolyzes α-(1→4) glucosidic bond of maltose into two glucose molecules. It is widely used in various foods, beverages and also in textile and biofuel industries. During current study, various physicochemical parameters for maltase production from newly isolated strain of Bacillus licheniformis KIBGE-IB4 were optimized using one-factor-at-a-time methodology. It was found that Bacillus licheniformis KIBGE-IB4 produced maximum maltase at 37°C, pH-7.0 after 48 hours using wheat starch (2.5%) as carbon source along with peptone (1.0%), yeast extract (0.2%) and meat extract (0.4%) as nitrogen sources in fermentation medium. It is concluded that the optimization of various medium ingredients and conditions increases maltase production upto 6.74 fold from B. licheniformis KIBGE-IB4 as compared to previously reported media and this strain could be used for the commercial production of maltase.