Fermentation Assisted Extraction of Chitin from Shrimp Waste

Abstract

Shrimp waste has been used extensively for the commercial production of chitin. Both chemical and biological method can be used for the chitin extraction. Chitin extraction by chemical method has been found to be hazardous in nature due to the application of strong acids and bases. In the other hand, biological method has been found to be ecofriendly in nature in which lactic acid producing bacteria, and protease producing bacteria has been applied for the chitin extraction. Fermentation assisted extraction of chitin from shrimp shell waste was explored in this studied. Lactic acid producing bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bacillus subtilis were utilized for the cofermentation of shrimp waste in shake flask culture as well as in bioreactor. Fermentation media for chitin extraction from shrimp waste was optimized using Plackett-Burman followed by Response Surface Methodology. Percentage of demineralization, percentage of deproteination and chitin yield was estimated. The extracted chitin and commercial chitin from shrimp waste was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)