Optimizing Chitin Extraction and Chitosan Production from House Cricket Flour

Abstract

Chitin and its derivative, chitosan, have diverse applications in fields such as agriculture, medicine, and biosensors, amongst others. Extraction is primarily conducted from marine sources, such as crustaceans, which have been the focus of process optimization studies. However, there are other sources that are more readily available, such as insects, where insufficient research has been conducted. The house cricket (Acheta domesticus) is a promising source for chitin extraction because of its high chitin content, availability, and short lifespan. Modern chemical chitin extraction methods have not been standardized due to the use of different reagents, molar concentrations, temperatures, and reaction times across publications. Therefore, in this study, the composition of Acheta domesticus cricket flour was determined: 2.62% humidity, 4.3% ash content, 56.29% protein, 13.35% fat, 23.44% carbohydrates, and 15.71% crude fiber content. After a drying, defatting, demineralization, deproteinization, and bleaching process, chitin extraction was performed, and chitosan was obtained via a deacetylation reaction. The demineralization process was standardized at 30 °C for 3 h using HCl 2 M, resulting in 95.85 ± 0.012%. The deproteinization process was optimized at 80 °C for 45 min using NaOH 2.56 M, yielding 43.23 ± 1.25%. Finally, the identity and physicochemical characteristics of the compounds were confirmed and determined through characterization with Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Differential Scanning Calorimetry.