Recovery of protein, chitin, carotenoids and glycosaminoglycans from Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) processing waste

• Published in: Process biochemistry (1991) Vol. 47; no. 4; pp. 570 - 577
• Main Authors: Cahú, Thiago B., Santos, Suzan D., Mendes, Aline, Córdula, Carolina R., Chavante, Suely F., Carvalho, Luiz B., Nader, Helena B., Bezerra, Ranilson S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2012
• Subjects: Autolysis; Bioactive molecules; Carotenoids; Chitosan; Glycosaminoglycans; Litopenaeus vannamei; Polysaccharides; Processing waste; Recovery; Shrimps; Wastes; Wet processing; ΔU-GalNAc; Bioactive molecules; ΔU-GlcNAc, 6S; Autolysis; ΔU,2S-GlcNS,6S; ΔUGlcNS; Polysaccharides; Processing waste; ΔU-GalNAc, 4S; Litopenaeus vannamei; ΔU-GlcNS,6S; ΔU-GalNAc, 6S; ΔU-GlcNAc
• ISSN: 1359-5113; 1873-3298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2011.12.012

► An integrated method to recover protein, chitin, carotenoids and GAGs from shrimp processing waste. ► The use of endogenous enzymes instead of commercial. ► Characterization of the polysaccharides obtained. Shrimp head waste is a major byproduct of crustacean processing in North-eastern Brazil and represents an interesting source of bioactive molecules. Additionally, its use increases the sustainability of processing fishery products. The present study reports a process developed for recovering bioactive molecules from shrimp heads through autolysis. A protein hydrolysate (120±0.4g) formed by a 9% (w/v) solution was recovered and lyophilized from 1kg of shrimp heads. Approximately 195±0.5mg of carotenoids was recovered as an ethanolic extract. The recovery of chitin and chitosan were 25±2gkg−1 and 17±4gkg−1 wet processing waste, respectively. Chitosans were characterized by 13C NMR, and FT-IR analysis and exhibited a variable degree of deacetylation (60–80%). Sulfated glycosaminoglycans that exhibited electrophoretic migration similar to mammalian standards were also recovered (79±2mgkg−1 wet processing waste), and their degradation products suggested the presence of C6-sulfated heparan sulfate. These data point to the feasibility of an integrated process for isolating highly bioactive molecules, such as sulfated- and amino-polysaccharides, with a broad spectrum of applications from shrimp processing waste.