Comprehensive use of crustacean waste for the production of oligosaccharides and monomers of chitin and chitosan

This study is devoted to the investigation of chitinolytic enzymes from the hepatopancreas of two commercially exploited crabs in the North-West region: the Red King crab ( Paralitho- des camtschaticus ) and the snow crab ( Chionoecetes opilio ). The results of the study demonstrate the presence of endo- and exochitinase activity in enzyme preparations, allowing for various types of chitin biotransformation. Using these enzymes, it is possible to depolymerize chitin into low-molecular-weight chitin and chitin oligomers, as well as to obtain the monomer N-acetylglucosamine. The authors have shown that crab hepatopancreas can be used as a raw material for obtaining chitinolytic enzymes, which allow for the enzymatic transformation of natural chitin into low-molecular-weight oligosaccharides and N-acetylglucosamine.