High-yield chitin extraction and nanochitin production from cricket legs
Crickets, which are commonly used in insect-based foods, are an eco-friendly protein source that can potentially replace crustacean shells for chitin isolation. However, low yields limit this strategy for chitin production. In this study, we focused on cricket legs, which contain a significant amoun...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Carbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666893925001549 |
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| Summary: | Crickets, which are commonly used in insect-based foods, are an eco-friendly protein source that can potentially replace crustacean shells for chitin isolation. However, low yields limit this strategy for chitin production. In this study, we focused on cricket legs, which contain a significant amount of exoskeleton and are generated during insect food processing, to extract high-purity chitin via chemical refining. In this study, nanochitin was produced by wet-grinding the chitin in a uniform water suspension. The complete extraction procedure yielded chitin at 12.6 %, which is five times higher than the yield from the entire body and comparable to that from crab shells. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering, and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed that the chemical structure, crystal structure, and thermal decomposition temperature of the obtained chitin were identical to those of crab shell-derived chitin. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and light scattering analyses revealed that the shape of the produced nanochitin was thicker and shorter than that of nanochitin from crab shells. This difference in morphology influenced the dispersibility and viscosity of the water mixture, producing a clearer and less viscous suspension than that obtained from crab shell-derived nanochitin. |
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| ISSN: | 2666-8939 |