Soil bacterium yields amylase that destains cotton and clarifies juice

Researchers screening soil bacteria for industrial enzymes report that a strain of Bacillus cereus, designated E327, produced an alpha-amylase with strong performance in two very different applications: removing starch-based stains from dyed cotton fabric and clarifying fruit juice. The study, published in 3 Biotech, began with 236 bacterial isolates from soil samples, of which E327 showed the highest amylolytic activity, measured by an enzyme index of 2.2, and was identified through 16S rRNA sequencing.

The team then optimized enzyme production. Maximum alpha-amylase yield of 218 ± 3.7 units per millilitre was reached when the bacterium was grown at pH 7.0 and 37 °C over 48 hours of incubation.

For textile destaining, the researchers used a one-factor-at-a-time optimization approach and found the best conditions to be an enzyme concentration of 150 units per millilitre, a temperature of 50 °C, and a treatment time of 60 minutes. Under these conditions, starch stains on dyed cotton fabric were nearly completely removed, with a color difference value (ΔE) of 0.67 ± 0.02, where values close to zero indicate the treated fabric matches its original appearance.

To validate the destaining process under realistic washing conditions, the team used a Launder-O-Meter. The crude enzyme performed comparably to commercial stain-removal products on both starch stains and apple slurry stains, achieving ΔE values below 0.90 and whiteness recovery of up to 89.6 percent. This suggests the bacterial enzyme could compete with existing formulations in detergent-type applications.

The enzyme also showed promise in food processing. In juice clarification trials, the free enzyme produced the greatest reduction in turbidity compared with both commercial and immobilized alpha-amylase preparations.

The authors suggest that the amylase from Bacillus cereus E327 holds promise as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative for industrial textile cleaning and food applications. Because the tests reported in the abstract were laboratory-scale, including Launder-O-Meter validation rather than full industrial trials, further work would be needed to confirm performance and economics at production scale.

Subject of Research: Isolation and functional testing of a Bacillus cereus alpha-amylase for textile destaining and fruit juice clarification

Article Title: Production and functional assessment of Bacillus cereus E327 α-amylase for eco-friendly textile destaining and fruit juice clarification

Article References: Liaqat, F., Demirkan, E., Kut, D., Kara, H., & Khazi, M. I. (2026). Production and functional assessment of Bacillus cereus E327 α-amylase for eco-friendly textile destaining and fruit juice clarification. 3 Biotech, 16(11), Article 472. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-026-05102-5

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s13205-026-05102-5

Keywords: Bacillus cereus, alpha-amylase, textile destaining, fruit juice clarification, cotton fabric, starch hydrolysis, industrial enzymes, 16S rRNA, Launder-O-Meter, turbidity, Production, functional