Fish Processing Wastes as a Potential Source of Proteins, Amino Acidsand Oils: A Critical Review

Abstract

The fish processing industry is a major exporter of seafood and marine products in many countries. About 70% of the fish is processed before final sale. Processing of fish involves stunning, grading, slime removal, deheading, washing, scaling, gutting, cutting of fins, meat bone separation and steaks and fillets. During these steps significant amount of waste (20-80% depending upon the level of processing and type of fish) is generated which can be utilized as fish silage, fishmeal and fish sauce. Fish waste can also be used for production of various value added products such as proteins, oil, amino acids, minerals, enzymes, bioactive peptides, collagen and gelatin. The fish proteins are found in all parts of the fish. There are three types of proteins in fish: structural proteins, sacroplasmic proteins and connective tissue proteins. The fish proteins can be extracted by chemical and enzymatic process. In the chemical method, salts (NaCl and LiCl) and solvents (isopropanol and aezotropic isopropanol) are used, whereas during the enzymatic extraction, enzymes (alcalase, neutrase, protex, protemax and flavorzyme) are used to extract proteins from fish. These fish proteins can be used as a functional ingredient in many food items because of their properties (water holding capacity, oil absorption, gelling activity, foaming capacity and emulsifying properties). They can also be used as milk replacers, bakery substitutes, soups and infant formulas. The amino acids are the building blocks of protein. There are 16-18 amino acids present in fish proteins. The amino acids can be produced from fish protein by enzymatic or chemical processes. The enzymatic hydrolysis involves the use of direct protein substrates and enzymes such as alcalase, neutrase, carboxypeptidase, chymotrypsin, pepsin and trypsin. In the chemical hydrolysis process, acid or alkali is used for the breakdown of protein to extract amino acids. The main disadvantage of this method is the complete destruction of tryptophan and cysteine and partial destruction of tyrosine, serine and threonine. The amino acids present in the fish can be utilized in animal feed in the form of fishmeal and sauce or can be used in the production of various pharmaceuticals. The fish oil contains two important polyunsaturated fatty acids called EPA and DHA or otherwise called as omega-3 fatty acids. These omega-3 fatty acids have beneficial bioactivities including prevention of atherosclerosis, protection against maniac–depressive illness and various other medicinal properties. Fish oil can also be converted to non-toxic, biodegradable, environment friendly biodiesel using chemical or enzymatic transesterification.