TAGRA 2024

Enzymes are stable and specific biocatalysts. In recent years, their use in environmentally-friendly biotechnological approaches for various industrial innovations has become increasingly common. For this reason, identifying enzymes and enzyme units with potential applications in different processes is of both economic and environmental significance. Among the biomass waste generated in the environment, lignin and its derivatives hold considerable importance. Some of the enzymes capable of degrading lignin include peroxidase, catalase, and polyphenol oxidase. In this study, a waste carbon source, Eriobotrya japonica seeds, was utilized for the production of peroxidase, catalase, and polyphenol oxidase enzymes, aiming to achieve a lower-cost and easily accessible enzyme production process. As a result, high-value antioxidant enzymes were produced from the environmental waste of Eriobotrya japonica seeds using a thermophilic bacterium. In this study, the bacterium Caldibacillus pasinlerensis, a newly identified species isolated from the hot springs of Pasinler district in Erzurum, was used. The activity of antioxidant enzymes such as peroxidase, catalase, and polyphenol oxidase was controlled using appropriate substrates. As a result of the optimization process, the highest enzyme activity was observed at 4g, pH 8, 55 °C for 24 hours for peroxidase and catalase, and at 4g, pH 9, 55 °C for 48 hours for polyphenol oxidase. Enzymes produced in plant waste-based media are frequently used in industries, clinical diagnostics, biosensor production, and organic synthesis reactions. Due to their free radical scavenging properties, these enzymes are intended for use in preparing pharmaceutical or cosmetic products, degrading pesticides and other toxic chemicals, paper bleaching, waste oil, and water treatment in industrial fields.