Exploring Simplified Methods for Insect Chitin Extraction and Application as a Potential Alternative Bioethanol Resource

Abstract

Chitin, the second most plentiful biopolymer in nature, is a major component of insect cuticle. In searching for alternative resources for fossil fuels, some fungal strains of Mucor circinelloides from an insect-source were found to produce bioethanol directly using insect chitin as a substrate. Herein, simplified methods for insect chitin extraction and application as a substrate in submerged fermentation for bioethanol production were explored. Chitin of the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana (L.)) was isolated by refluxing the cockroaches dried exoskeletons with 4% NaOH. The purity of the extracted chitin was assessed to be high when the physicochemical properties of the extracted chitin matched these of commercially available crab and shrimp samples. The extracted chitin was employed as a substrate in submerged fermentation using two strains of M. circinelloides. One of these, strains M. circinelloides 6017 showed immense potential for bioethanol production directly. It could to bio-transform 15 g/L of colloidal chitin directly to 11.22 ± 0.312 g/L of bioethanol (74% of the initial chitin mass) after 6 days of incubation. These results confirm the possibility of using insect biomass as a potential alternative resource for bioethanol production in a simple manner thus contributing to the creation of an alternate energy source.

Preparation of Antioxidant and Antibacterial Chitosan Film from Periplaneta americana

“…Attracted to these characteristics, people in China have reared P. americana in large scale for researches and commercial applications. For now, various substances—including protein, fatty acid, antimicrobial peptide, chitin, and chitosan—have been separated from P. americana so that they could be studied and applied separately [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

Phytochemical Profiling, Isolation, and Pharmacological Applications of Bioactive Compounds from Insects of the Family Blattidae Together with Related Drug Development

“…The shells remaining after extraction can also be used to produce chitin, chitosan [37], and their derivatives, and it is very beneficial to realize a comprehensive utilization for this insect [38]. In addition, the active insect protein is rich in chitin, and the purity of the chitin contained in the insect protein is several times greater than in shrimp and crab, which makes its utilization more meaningful [34,39]. Additionally, this type of macromolecule is also found inside the body of Blattidae.…”

Antibacterial and antiviral activities of chitosan nanoparticles from the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana

“…Generally, insects like cockroaches have recently drawn the attention of researchers due to their enormous biomass, antimicrobial peptide, and potential as protein, lipid, and chitin sources (Kamal et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2019;Mohan et al, 2020). The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) is a globally widespread species that can be found in tropics, subtropics, and temperate climates.…”