[Improved extraction of solanesol from tobacco waste by enzymatic cell wall breaking]

To improve the extraction of solanesol from tobacco waste, we developed an enzymatic cell wall-breaking process with combined cellulase and ligninase. The effects of reaction time, temperature, pH and enzyme/substrate ratio were determined. The results show that the catalytic effect was better than either single enzyme when the ratio of cellulase to ligninase was 15:1 (U/U). Under the optimized conditions of 175 U/g (enzymes/substrate), tobacco to water 1:5 (W/W), temperature 40 degrees C and pH 6.0, the concentration of solanesol in the solution could reach 0.33 g/L after 8 h. And the average leaching rate reached 96.53% which was 1.68 times of the extraction methods of chemical reflux. It provides new way for the extraction of solanesol from tobacco waste, and worthwhile to be further explored.