Green Extraction of Chitin from Deep-Water Red Shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) by-Products by Means of Lactic acid Bacteria (Lactobacillus lactis and Lactobacillus brevis) and the Yeast Yarrowia lypolytica

The increasing demand for seafood recorded over the years led to an increase in the by-products produced by the seafood processing sector. These by-products, which can represent up to 70% of the processed product, are rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds, so if recovered, by means of eco-friendly methods, they can be used in lot of sectors, such as food, packaging, cosmetics and pharmaceutics. In the present work, two lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus lactis and L. brevis) and the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, able to produce organic acids and proteases during the fermentation process, were used to extract chitin from deep-water shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) by-products. The results showed that L. lactis was the most effective microorganism in removing both the mineral and protein fractions, being chosen for the optimization of the extraction technique of chitin, eventually converted in chitosan. The chitosan showed a deacetylation degree (DD) of 82%, which led to good film-forming capacity. The developed biological technique allowed valorizing shrimp by-products by recovering chitin and chitosan, which was able to produce biofilm to be employed to prolong seafood shelf life, in a circular economy point of view, contributing even more to increase the sustainability of the production sector.