Use of pepsin for collagen extraction from the skin of bigeye snapper (Priacanthus tayenus)

Extraction and some properties of pepsin-solubilised collagens from the skin of bigeye snapper (Priacanthus tayenus) were investigated. Addition of bigeye snapper pepsin (BSP) at a level of 20 kUnits/g of defatted skin resulted in an increased content of collagen extracted from bigeye snapper skin. The yields of collagen from bigeye snapper skin extracted for 48 h with acid and with BSP were 5.31% and 18.74% (dry basis), respectively. With pre-swelling in acid for 24 h, collagen extracted with BSP at a level of 20 kUnits/g of defatted skin for 48 h had a yield of 19.79%, which was greater than that of collagen extracted using porcine pepsin at the same level (13.03%). The skin collagen was characterised to be type I with no disulfide bond. Electrophoretic study revealed slight differences in molecular weight between acid-solubilised collagen and all pepsin-solubilised collagens. The molecular weights of α1 and α2 chains in acid-solubilised collagen were estimated to be 120 and 112 kDa, respectively, whereas α1 and α2 chains of pepsin-solubilised collagens had molecular weights of 118 and 111 kDa, respectively. The result suggested that these pepsin-solubilised collagens might undergo partial cleavage in the telopeptide region by pepsin treatment. The maximum transition temperature (T_max) of acid-solubilised collagen was observed at 32.5 °C, which was slightly higher than that of pepsin-solubilised collagens (by about 1 °C). Generally, all collagens were highly solubilised in the pH range of 2–5 and sharply decreased at the neutral pH. No changes in solubility were observed in the presence of NaCl up to 3% (w/v) and the decrease was more pronounced with increasing NaCl concentration.