Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jul 15;21(14):4978.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21144978.

The Potential of Insects as Alternative Sources of Chitin: An Overview on the Chemical Method of Extraction from Various Sources

Nurul Alyani Zainol Abidin  1 , Faridah Kormin  1   2 , Nurul Akhma Zainol Abidin  1 , Nor Aini Fatihah Mohamed Anuar  1 , Mohd Fadzelly Abu Bakar  1   2
Affiliations
Review

The Potential of Insects as Alternative Sources of Chitin: An Overview on the Chemical Method of Extraction from Various Sources

Nurul Alyani Zainol Abidin et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Chitin, being the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose, has been gaining popularity since its initial discovery by Braconot in 1811. However, fundamental knowledge and literature on chitin and its derivatives from insects are difficult to obtain. The most common and sought-after sources of chitin are shellfish (especially crustaceans) and other aquatic invertebrates. The amount of shellfish available is obviously restricted by the amount of food waste that is allowed; hence, it is a limited resource. Therefore, insects are the best choices since, out of 1.3 million species in the world, 900,000 are insects, making them the most abundant species in the world. In this review, a total of 82 samples from shellfish-crustaceans and mollusks (n = 46), insects (n = 23), and others (n = 13)-have been collected and studied for their chemical extraction of chitin and its derivatives. The aim of this paper is to review the extraction method of chitin and chitosan for a comparison of the optimal demineralization and deproteinization processes, with a consideration of insects as alternative sources of chitin. The methods employed in this review are based on comprehensive bibliographic research. Based on previous data, the chitin and chitosan contents of insects in past studies favorably compare and compete with those of commercial chitin and chitosan-for example, 45% in Bombyx eri, 36.6% in Periostracum cicadae (cicada sloughs), and 26.2% in Chyrysomya megacephala. Therefore, according to the data reported by previous researchers, demonstrating comparable yield values to those of crustacean chitin and the great interest in insects as alternative sources, efforts towards comprehensive knowledge in this field are relevant.

Keywords: chemical extraction; chitin; chitosan; demineralization; deproteinization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Chemical configuration of chitin; (b) structure of the chitin molecule, showing two of the N-acetylglucosamine units that repeat to form long chains in the β-(1→4)-linkage.
Figure 2
Figure 2
General process for chitin and chitosan extraction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Brine C.J., Austin P.R. Chitin variability with species and method of preparation. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 1981;69:283–286. doi: 10.1016/0305-0491(81)90242-X. - DOI
    1. Braconnot H. Sur la nature des champignons. Ann. Chim. Phys. 1811;79:265–304.
    1. Hoffman A. How LSD Originated. J. Phychoactive Drugs. 1979;11:53–60. doi: 10.1080/02791072.1979.10472092. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hagenbach D.A., Werthmuller L., Grof S. Mystic Chemist: The Life of Albert Hoffman and His Discovery of LSD. Synergetic Press; Santa Fe, NM, USA: 2013.
    1. Sashiwa H., Aiba S.-i. Chemically modified chitin and chitosan as biomaterials. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2004;29:887–908. doi: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2004.04.001. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources