Fermentation of sorghum with Aspergillus strains: A promising and sustainable pathway to enzyme production- comprehensive review

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to explore the utilization of sorghum as a potential substrate to produce valuable enzymes using Aspergillus strains. It focuses on two key aspects: (i) the environmental and economic sustainability of enzyme production from sorghum ii. enhancing enzymes and biofuel production through process and host cell optimization. A comparative study is conducted among sorghum, wheat, and corn to understand the current state of knowledge and research gap on large-scale enzyme production. Sorghum is an adaptable crop with all types of environments and is overall more sustainable than wheat and corn. With its rich composition of starch (60%-75%), lignin (11%-25%), hemicellulose (18%-25%), and cellulose (25%-45%), sorghum represents itself an excellent candidate for the enzyme, and also first and second-generation biofuel production. The advantages and associated challenges of the Aspergillus strains are then discussed for enzyme production. It highlights the development of an integrated process for enzyme and bioethanol production at a low cost without relying on external carbon and nitrogen sources through an eco-friendly and economically viable approach.