BIOSURFACTANT PRODUCTION USING PINEAPPLE JUICE AS MEDIUM BY PSEUDOMONAS FLUORESCENS ISOLATED FROM MANGROVE FOREST SOIL.

In the present investigation, Pineapple juice has been tested for its suitability for biosurfactant production using Pseudomonas fluorescens MFS03 isolated from the crude oil enriched mangrove soil. The strain recorded maximum biosurfactant production (9.43 g/l) when pineapple juice was used as a medium. Biosurfactant production was confirmed by conventional screening methods including hemolytic activity, drop collapsing test, oil displacement method, CTAB, lipase activity and emulsification index. The isolate shows lowest surface tension of 25.4 mN/m, an interfacial tension of 0.98 mN/m and a CMC of 34 mg/l. The active compound was extracted with ethyl acetate. The extract was fractionated by TLC to isolate the pure compound. Based on the TLC, chromatogram the biosurfactant was identified as glycolipid type. FT-IR spectrum revealed that the important adsorption bands at 3466.24, 2926.45, 1743.47, 1407.30 and 1162.26 cm-1 indicates the chemical structure of rhamnolipid. The results demonstrated that the Pineapple juice can be a suitable medium for the biosurfactant production, which can improve the process economical.