Journal of Veterinary Science & Medicine

Research Article

Optimization of Chitin Extraction, Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Chitosan Production from Shells of Karamote Shrimp Peneaus (Melicertus) Kerathurus in Western Greece

Katsoulis K1* and Rovoli M2

1Department of Animal Husbandry and Nutrition, University of Thessaly, Greece
2Biochemistry Department, University of Thessaly, Greece
*Address for Correspondence: Katsoulis K, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Husbandry and Nutrition, University of Thessaly, Faculty of Veterinary Science, 224 Trikalon Street, P.O. Box 199, Karditsa, 43100, Greece; E-mail: kkatsoulis@uth.gr
Submission: 12-December, 2020; Accepted: 25-January, 2021; Published: 28-January, 2021
Copyright: © 2021 Katsoulis K, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This research aims to optimize by chemical methods the extraction of chitin and chitosan from shells of Karamote shrimp Peneaus (Melicertus) kerathurus. Shrimp waste can be used as source of high value compounds. Chitin is a major component of the exoskeleton of invertebrates and chemically is a linear polysaccharide of β (1→4) linked N-acetylglucosamine monomers. Chitosan is a deacetylated form of chitin having d-glucosamine repeating units linked by β (1-4) glycosidic bond. The extraction method uses different concentrations of sodium or potassium hydroxide in the deproteinization (protein separation) and deacetylation (remove acetyl groups) step and hydrochloric acid for demineralization (separation of calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate) to yield optimum output. Among all experiments, results of 1.0 N solution of HCl for demineralization, 2 N for deproteination and 12.5 N NaOH solutions for deacetylation at solid to solvent ratio of 1: 15, clearly demonstrate a significant yield of chitin and chitosan. The results obtained from this study show also that the solubility of chitosan in 1% acetic acid solution achieved up to 90%.