Isolation and characterisation of carotenoproteins from deep-water pink shrimp processing waste

The effect of barbel (Barbus callensis) trypsin on the recovery and characteristics of carotenoprotein from pink shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) waste was studied. The recovery of carotenoproteins was maximized by the hydrolysis of shrimp waste using 1.0 trypsin U/g of shrimp waste for 1 h at 25 degrees C. Freeze dried partially purified carotenoproteins recovered contained 71.09 +/- 0.19% protein, 16.47 +/- 0.68% lipid, 7.78 +/- 0.12% ash, 1.79 +/- 0.04% chitin, 87.42 +/- 2.54 mu g total astaxanthin/g of sample. Protein-pigment splitting, for astaxanthin recuperation, was carried out using barbel and bovine trypsins and the mixture of the two enzymes; then the protein was separated from the pigment by ultrafiltration. The hydrolysate obtained by treatment with the mixture of the two enzymes presented the best levels (p < 0.05) of xanthophylls (80.15 mu g/g) and total protein (7.42 mg/g), respectively. Splitting the protein-pigment complex allows studies on pigment absorption, stability and application. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.