Abstract
Aim: To
study the dynamics of enzymes involved in biochemical process of jute (Corchorus
spp.) retting with and without microbial retting consortium.
Methodology: Two large scale retting trials were conducted with
and without microbial retting consortium in triplicate. The retting water
samples were collected every day at 24 hrs interval from both the trials.
Polygalcturonase (PG), pectin lyase (PNL) and xylanase activities along with
the pH were measured from the collected retting water samples following
standard procedure. Fibre quality parameters were also studied from the
resultant fibre obtained from both the retting trials.
Results:
There was a sharp decrease in pH of retting liquor by 1.35 units and that of
pectin lyase activity by 97.9 Uml-1 within 24 hrs of inoculation of microbial
retting consortium. Thereafter, higher pectin lyase (123.1 Uml-1),
polygalacturonase (3.56 Iuml-1) and xylanase (0.818 IUml-1)
activities were recorded during middle stage of retting. The enzyme
activities were lower and non-significant at last stage of retting (11-14
days). The completion of retting without microbial consortium took longer
time due to lower enzymatic activities as compared to microbial consortium
mediated retting.
Interpretation: The PG, PNL and xylanase enzymes
released by the microbial consortium during retting of jute helped in faster
biodegradation of pectin and xylan compared to control retting. Hence, the
pre retting treatment of jute with microbial consortium is suggested for
quick retting.
Key
words:
Fibre quality, Jute, Microbial retting, Polygalacturonase
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