Chitin – A Structural Polysaccharide for Health and Environmental Alimentation

Abstract

Ever increasing physiological and environmental abnormalities warrant natural, safe, easy to extract, less expensive and eco-friendly bio-components of versatile usage. Chitin, the second most abundant polysaccharide in the world, seems promising in fighting diseases, boosting immunity up and maintaining environment fresh. Chitin is a polysaccharide of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine forms the exoskeletons of arthropods, mollusks and insects, cell walls of fungi and scales of fishes. Based on extraction, purification and integration enhancement, chitin could be of greater importance for the maintenance of human health, agriculture and environment. Present article compares and contrasts the methods utilized for extraction and purification of chitin from different sources and review its current fields and suggest the future aspects.