Acid and Pepsin Soluble Collagens from Skin By-product of Red-bellied Pacu (Piaractus brachypomus): Extraction and Comparative Characterizations Towards Finding Substitute to Bovine and Porcine Collagen.

This investigation focused on the sustainable valorization of red-bellied pacu
(RBP) skin towards finding an alternative to bovine and porcine collagen.
Acid-soluble collagen (ASC, 45.8 ± 0.7%) and pepsin soluble collagen (PSC,
57.8 ± 1.9%) were successfully extracted from RBP skin and comparatively
elucidated their characteristics and in-vitro fibril-forming potential. The
extracted collagens were characterized as type I collagen and confirmed
the well-preserved triple-helical configuration by sodium dodecyl sulphate
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Fourier transform-infrared spectro�scopy analysis. Both ASC and PSC exhibited relatively better thermo-stability,
and the denaturation temperatures were found to be 35.5–35.29 °C by
differential scanning calorimetry analysis. Both collagens displayed higher
(p ≤ 0.05) solubility at low NaCl concentrations. The extracted ASC and PSC
showed the same degree of fibril-forming capacities and confirmed well�defined fibril morphologies. Overall, the results showed the possibilities of
effectively exploring RBP skin as a potential alternative source for realistic
and safe collagen for food, nutrition, pharmaceutical, and other applications.