Determination of Proper Conditions for the Production of Crude Beta-galactosidase Using Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus

Proper conditions for producing crude beta-galactosidase from waste materials were de-termined. This enzyme is to be used in the production of lactose-hydrolyzed milk. Whey permeate was used as a basic medium. Twenty seven treatments were developed by 3 vary-ing factors of: yeast extract (1, 2, and 3 %), wheat steep liquor (1, 2, and 3 %), and whey powder (0.5, 1, and 1.5 %). Crude enzyme extract was obtained by sonication of the cells collected from cultivation of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus in various media at 43oC. The beta-galactosidase activity was assessed using Ortho-Nitro-Phenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (ONPG). Yeast extract and whey powder had both significant effects (P< 0.01), while wheat steep liquor proved to be ineffective. Yeast extract had the most pro-nounced effect on the production of beta-galactosidase. The effect of the interactions of yeast extract-whey powder and wheat steep liquor-whey powder were significant at 5 % level (P< 0.05), while the effect of the interaction of yeast extract-wheat steep liquor was sig-nificant at 1% level (P< 0.01). Interaction effect of the 3 factors on the production of beta-galactosidae was significant (P< 0.01). The best combination for production of beta-galactosidase (4.924 U ml-1) was 3% yeast extract, 1.5% whey powder and 2% wheat steep liquor.