*2.3. Evaluation of Enzymatic Activity*

From 20 mL inoculated flasks, 1 mL of the supernatant was taken immediately after inoculum and every 24 h until 72 h of growth. (NH4)2SO<sup>4</sup> sodium (657 mg) was added to each sample, once solubilized, the suspension was centrifuged (5600 RCF, 10 min). The precipitates were immediately resuspended in 10 mL of 100 mM acetate buffer containing 0.25% of starch at pH 5. Reaction samples (1 mL) were taken starting from T<sup>0</sup> (immediately after adding the enzyme), after 6 h, and every 24 h up to 72 h. The same enzymatic reaction protocol was applied to 10 mL of paper mill water instead of the solution containing starch. All tests were carried out in triplicate for statistical significance. All the collected samples were analyzed by the DNS assay for the quantification of reducing sugars.
