Extraction of Collagen from Fish Waste

The fishing industry in Ecuador has grown by 12%, generating more waste such as fish skins, bones, and scales. If not properly managed, this waste increases organic load, causing environmental problems. This research focuses on using two methods to extract collagen from fish scales.Objectives: The goal is to apply two methods for efficient collagen extraction from fish waste. Methodology: Two methods were explored: hydrolysis and demineralization, to obtain high-purity hydrolyzed collagen and denatured proteins to get partially hydrolyzed collagen. The raw material was characterized using the Micro Kjeldahl method to determine the protein and moisture content of scales from different fish species.Results: The yield was 60% and 39.72%, meeting physicochemical and microbiological requirements for human consumption, indicating that the processes used were efficient. Conclusions: Various collagen extraction procedures were analyzed, grouped into two methods: high-purity collagen and partially hydrolyzed collagen. The high-purity collagen method showed an unfavorable yield of 0.745%, while the partially hydrolyzed collagen method achieved a yield of 15.44%.