Isolation of collagen from fish waste material - skin, bone and fins

In an investigation into making more effective use of under-utilized resources, type I collagen was prepared from fish skin, bone and fin, respectively. As a result, the yields of these collagens were as follows: (1) skin collagen, 51.4% (Japanese sea-bass), 49.8% (chub mackerel) and 50.1% (bullhead shark), respectively; (2) bone collagen, 42.3% (skipjack tuna), 40.7% (Japanese sea-bass), 53.6% (ayu), 40.1% (yellow sea bream) and 43.5% (horse mackerel), respectively; (3) fin collagen, 5.2% (Japanese sea-bass acid-soluble collagen) and 36.4% (Japanese sea-bass acid-insoluble collagen), on the basis of lyophilized dry weight. The denaturation temperatures of these collagens were as follows: skin collagen (25.0-26.5 degrees C), bone collagen (29.5-30.0 degrees C) and fin collagen (28.0-29.1 degrees C), respectively. These values were lower about 7-12 degrees C than that of porcine skin collagen. This report indicates that these fish waste materials have potential in supplementing the skin of land vertebrates as a source of collagen. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.