Abstract

Marine species present a rich source of natural bioactive compounds. Collagen and gelatin are one of the most abundant valuable products, which can be an alternative source for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Pufferfish species are not consumed due to its toxicity, since containing tetrodotoxin (TTX) in their body. Therefore, it is important to gain economic value for an environmental issue. In the present study, collagen and gelatin were for the first time isolated and characterized from the skin of silver cheeked pufferfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) by characterizing acid-soluble collagen (ASC). The process extraction efficiency for collagen and gelation was found to be a yield of 50.9% and 20.63 %, respectively. The extracted collagen was characterized by proximate analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), amino acid analysis and SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis. The mixtures collagen and gelatin extracts were found to be highly pure. The LC/MS/MS analysis revealed that there was no detected TTX in the extracted collagen, indicating the biocompatibility of the extracted collagen. This study exhibit the efficiency of this approach and the economic potential of pufferfish skin or other parts to obtain marine collagen with properties suitable for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.