Analysis of Protein Content of Hair Cream Enriched with Keratin Extract from Chicken Feathers

Abstract

This work investigated the extraction of keratin from chicken feathers and the use of the extract in the production of hair cream, for a period of 2 weeks. The study is aimed at finding beneficial utilization of such wastes like chicken feathers in the improvement of beauty products. Standard chemical procedure for keratin extraction was used; pretreatment and dissolution of feathers, protein precipitation and protein purification. The results obtained indicate that keratin was extracted from chicken feathers using different reducing agents. The keratin produced was 61.4% pure and was subjected to biuret testing and finally used in production of hair cream. The protein content in the produced hair cream was also determined. The solvent used was obtained from the combination of sodium metabisulphite, urea and sodium dodecyl sulphate. The keratin tested positive to Biuret test and the protein content of the produced hair cream was 2.8% while the commercially available hair creams contained no protein. This work has shown that keratin can be obtained from organic wastes like chicken feathers and used in the fortification of hair cream- a typical conversion of waste to wealth.