Tea stalks – a novel agro-residue for the production of tannase under solid state fermentation by Aspergillus niger JMU-TS528

A novel agro-residue, tea stalks, was tested for the production of tannase under solid-state fermentation (SSF) using Aspergillus niger JMU-TS528. Maximum yield of tannase was obtained when SSF was carried out at 28 °C, pH 6.0, liquid-to-solid ratio (v/w) 1.8, inoculum size 2 ml (1 × 108 spores/ml), 5 % (w/v) ammonium chloride as nitrogen source and 5 % (w/v) lactose as additional carbon source. Under optimum conditions, tannase production reached 62 U/g dry substrate after 96 h of fermentation. Results from the study are promising for the economic utilization and value addition of tea stalks.