Gelatin extraction by enzyme actinidin assisted process
Background:
Gelatin is extracted from animal skin like cattle and pig and bones of these animals using chemicals like hydrochloric acid (HCl) and calcium oxide (CaO) which gives low yield of gelatin. Therefore, previously, in order to increase the gelatin yield, the researchers have attempted to extract gelatin using different enzymes and they got better yield but the quality of the obtained gelatin was not encouraging because of the degradation of the protein chains present in the gelatin. Hence, it was suggested to use new enzymes which would enhance the yield and quality of the extracted gelatin without degrading the gelatin protein chain. So, a new approach has been devised to increase the gelatin yield and simultaneously to obtain gelatin having good quality using phytoenzymes i.e. enzymes from the plants.
Technology Details:
Better gelatin yield with good gel strength and viscosity could be obtained from skin using actinidin enzyme particularly at the level of 20 units of enzyme per wet gram of skin. The skin should be treated with 0.1 M NaOH for 6 h by changing the solution every two hours in the ration of 1: 5 (w/v). Then skin should be thoroughly ringed with water and thereafter pre-treated with 1% HCl solution for 20 hrs (ratio 1: 10 (w/v)). The skin should be washed with water carefully to remove traces of acid. Skin should be pre-treated with 20 units of actinidin enzyme in solution having pH 7.5 at 20°C for 48 hrs in the ratio of 1:3 (w/v). Enzyme would be deactivated by treating the mixture at 90°C for 15 min. Thereafter, gelatin is extracted at 60°C for 6 hrs in the same solution. After extraction process, it is filtered using cheese cloth and finally, dried to obtain the dried gelatin.