Microbial deproteinization of shrimp shell penaeus merguiensis for chitin extraction

After cellulose, Chitin is the most abundant biopolymer in nature. The most important derivative of chitin is chitosan, obtained by deacetylation of chitin. Major sources of chitin are the exoskeleton of marine crustaceans such as crab, shrimp, and krill. Chitin extraction from shrimp shells can be carried out chemically or using biological methods. Microbial fermentation as an eco-friendly procedure is a suitable alternative for the chemical and enzymatic processes. In this study, the effect of three protease-producing bacteria species (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, and Bacillus pumilus) on the efficiency of microbial demineralization (DM) and deproteinization (DP) of the shrimp shell penaeus merguiensis, was investigated. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of hydrolysate obtained during the fermentation process was measured.
Demineralization and deproteinization was carried out by incubating shrimp waste inoculated with bacteria at 30°C and 100 rpm for 6 days.
Statistical analysis of data showed a significant difference between the percentage of demineralization and deproteinization in different bacteria species (pDiscussion and The results indicated that P. aeruginosa in comparison with other bacterial strains, had a higher ability to remove proteins and minerals from shrimp shell waste. Therefore, the use of this bacterium is suitable for protein and minerals removal from marine crustaceans.