Production of alpha-amylase with Aspergillus flavus on Amaranthus grains by solid-state fermentation.

The effects of the ingredients of the Rajgeera (Amaranthus paniculatas) medium designed for production by A. flavus was evaluated with the help of the fractional factorial method, 'The Plackett-Burman' design. Out of the fifteen medium components used in the design, four components, viz., corn steep liquor, ammonium hydrogen phosphate, sodium chloride and calcium chloride were selected based on the contrast coefficient values and further used as independent variables in the 'Box-Behnken' design. A polynomial multiple regression model was generated using the SPSS/PC + (version 7.5) statistical analysis package. Corn steep liquor, ammonium hydrogen phosphate, sodium chloride and calcium chloride contributed to the yield to the tune of 81.3% of which sodium chloride and calcium chloride affected the yield to the tune of 68.3%. The yield obtained from the optimized medium was 8 times that obtained from the original medium. Amaranthus paniculatas grains as a source of starch and carbon for production of alpha-amylase under solid-state fermentation has been studied for the first time.