Purified bacterial cellulase and xylanase were activated in the presence of calcium hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (NP) with concomitant increase in thermostability about 35% increment in production of D-xylose and reducing sugars from rice husk and rice straw was obtained at 80 degrees C by the sequential treatment of xylanase and cellulase enzymes in the presence of NP compared to the untreated enzyme sets. Our findings suggested that if the rice husk and the rice straw samples were pre-treated with xylanase prior to treatment with cellulase, the percentage increase of reducing sugar per 100 g of substrate (starting material) was enhanced by about 29% and 41%, respectively. These findings can be utilized for the extraction of reducing sugars from cellulose and xylan containing waste material. The purely enzymatic extraction procedure can be substituted for the harsh and bio-adverse chemical methods. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.