Flower waste as a potential substrate for biosurfactant production

To know the potential of flower waste as a substrate for biosurfactant production, strains of pure isolated fungi F1, F2, F3, F4 and F5 were used for the study. Different screening methods were done to test the production of biosurfactant: Emulsification Index Test, Drop Collapse Test, Oil Spreading Test, CTAB Agar Test and Hemolytic Activity Test. The highest percentage of biosurfactant concentration for Emulsification Index Test i.e. E24 value was shown by F1 and F3 with 54.16%. The highest clearing zone for Oil Spreading Test was shown by F1 and F3 strain with 2.2 cm diameter. The Drop Collapse Test was shown positive by F1 and F3 strain with flattening of 1mm as compared with distilled water. The clearing zone around the wells for hemolytic activity was shown by both F1 and F3 strain. CTAB Agar Test showed that out of the five fungal strains, F1 and F3 showed blue halos around the wells and hence are anionic in nature. Thus, flower waste has the potential for the production of biosurfactant as a low-cost substrate which can yield high value biosurfactant.