Maximizing Collagen Yield from Underutilized Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) Skins by Optimizing Pre-Cleaning and Extraction Methods

Female lumpfish (<i>Cyclopterus lumpus</i>) are a primary target of commercial fishery for their roe, a substitute for caviar. The remaining carcasses are underutilized rest raw material. The pre-treatment and acid extraction conditions of collagen from lumpfish skins were optimized. Full factorial design was used to optimize the alkali pre-treatment conditions with NaOH. The optimal conditions were X₁ = 0.1 M (NaOH concentration), X₂ = 6 h (NaOH treatment time), X₃ = 4 °C (treatment temperature) and X₄ = 1:5 (<i>w</i>/<i>v</i>, solid to liquid ratio). Optimized conditions for collagen extraction with acetic acid were investigated using a Box-Behnken design. The result suggested a concentration of 0.9 M acetic acid, treatment temperature of 21 °C, a treatment time of 36 h in a total of 2 volumes of acid. Combined optimized effects resulted in a collagen yield of 45% (DW/DW) with high purity (>90%) and a high hydroxyproline content (7.9%). A scale-up experiment (starting with 45 kg) showed that the yield was somewhat lower (18-25%). Enzyme hydrolysis of skin after acetic acid extraction added another 23% (DW/DW) to the yield and enzyme hydrolysis of precleaned skins resulted in 60% (DW/DW).