EXTRACTION OF CHITOSAN FROM SHRIMP SHELL AND ITS APPLICATION AS A BIOACTIVE EDIBLE COATING FOR PRESERVATION OF FISH

Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide and it is composed of randomly distributed β-linked D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. It is made by treating the chitin shell of shrimp and other crustaceans with an alkaline substance, such as sodium hydroxide. In the world after cellulose chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide. Chitosan has a number of commercial and probable biomedical uses. Chitosan is formed commercially by deacetylation of chitin, which is the structural element in the exoskeleton of crustaceans and cell walls of fungi. In this work the raw materials used were the waste of shrimp, Penaeus indicus collected from the market near Cherthala, Alappuzha, Kerala. Chitosan was extracted by four different process like deproteinization, demineralisation, decolourisation, deacetylation. The subsequent chitosan was studied using infrared spectroscopy to test the identity. The FT-IR analysis method uses infrared light to scan test samples and detect chemical properties, that is solubility analysed. It has many pharmacological applications. Antimicrobial activity and bioactive edible coating property were investigated. The antimicrobial activity of chitosan and their derivatives against different groups of microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast and fungi, has received considerable attention. This property used for preservation of fish in this study. The most common spice for seafood preservative Allium sativum also added. Antibacterial activity studied here and the bacteria used for testing were identified using microscopic and biochemical characterization.