Abstract
Insect chitin was isolated from adult Holotrichia parallela by treatment with 1 M HCl and 1 M NaOH, following by 1% potassium permanganate solution for decolorization. The yield of chitin from this species is 15%. This insect chitin was compared with the commercial α-chitin from shrimp, by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and elemental analysis. Both chitins exhibited similar chemical structures and physicochemical properties. Adult H. parallela is thus a promising alternative source of chitin.
Highlights
Chitin, found in arthropods, is the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose [1]
The adult H. parallela contained 5.5% ash on a dried basis, while the ash content of chitin extracted from this species dropped to 2.2%. This result suggested that the demineralization with 1 M HCl for 30 min was an effective method for decreasing the ash content in adult H. parallela
The nitrogen content of chitin from adult H. parallela decreased to 6.3%, which is lower than the theoretical value of 6.9% for pure chitin
Summary
Found in arthropods (insects, crustaceans, arachnids and myriapods), is the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose [1]. Chitin and chitosan are attracting great interest because of their beneficial biological properties, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-antigenicity and non-toxicity [3,4] Since they are versatile biopolymers, their potential applications in various industrial fields are being actively investigated. Chitin and chitosan have been documented to be useful as antimicrobial, emulsifying, thickening and stabilizing agents in the food industry [5] They have shown notable bioactivity in biomedical fields, including wound healing promotion, immune system enhancement, and hemostatic, hypolipidemic and antimicrobial activity [6,7]. H. parallela is a beetle species belonging to the Melolonthidae subfamily of the Scarabaeoidea family These insects are field crop pests in China. Our institute is investigating the possibility of rearing H. parallela [17] This will provide a source for studies on the identification of active components from this beetle, including chitin and its derivative chitosan. These physicochemical properties were compared with those of shrimp chitin
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