Extraction of chitosan from carp (Cyprinus carpio) scales, its physicochemical characterization and determination of its use potential

It is known that global fish production is more than 179 million tons, however, 50% to 80% of the product to be processed in aquaculture processing plants is organic solid waste, causing many environmental pollutions. It is important to use these wastes that are not evaluated and threaten human health as a source of value-added products for a sustainable future. In this context, this study was conducted to evaluate the potential of carp fish (Cyprinus carpio) scales separated from aquaculture wastes as a source of chitosan. C. carpio scales were obtained from the local fish market, cleaned from other organic wastes, purified from proteins and minerals, and chitosan was obtained by deacetylation of the obtained chitin. The physico-chemical properties of chitosan obtained from C. carpio scales were analyzed using FT-IR, XRD and SEM. It was determined that the yield of chitosan was 2.5%, the degree of deacetylation was 76.85%, the protein content of the flakes was 76.75%, the mineral content of the flakes was 20.50%, and the chitosan was in β form. In line with these data, it was evaluated for which areas chitosan obtained from C. carpio could be a potential product.