Chapter 12
Collagen
Abstract Collagen is obtained from the bones, skins and scales of aquatic animals.
It is made up of three polypeptide chains linked together to form a tertiary structure.
It serves a structural role within the tissue where it provides flexibility within the
tissue matrix. Collagen can be processed into various forms, and it finds applications
in high-value products such as scaffolds in tissue engineering. Aquatic-derived collagen serves as an alternative to porcine or bovine sourced collagen, thus eliminating
associated health risk or ethical concerns associated with the collagen sourced from
these land animals. Since collagen can be obtained from the parts of the aquatic animals that are generally not consumed as food, the production of collagen contributes
toward management of waste resources as well as optimal utilization of aquatic
resources.
Keywords Collagen · Proteins · Biopolymers · Fish · Squids
12.1 Introduction
Collagen is abundant in nature as it is present in the tissue of every animal on land
and in the sea. It is limited to animals; therefore, aquatic plants and algae do not serve
as a source of collagen. Within the aquatic environment, main commercial sources
of collagen are from fish fin, skins and scales (Olatunji and Denloye 2017). Other
aquatic sources of collagen are invertebrates such as squids, starfish and jellyfish
(Benedetto et al. 2014; Tan et al. 2013). Collagen competes with the fish oil, and
fishmeal market as the fish parts is also used in this application. One of the most
common uses of collagen in the industry is in foods where it is mostly used in its
hydrolyzed form. Collagen from fish has been proven to be interchangeable with
bovine and porcine hydrolyzed collagen (Benedetto et al. 2014), with the added
advantage of being free from the risk of diseases such as mad cow diseases which
are associated with the collagen products obtained from these sources. It also serves
as an alternative where ethical or religious concerns exist with hydrolyzed collagen
sourced from bovine or porcine.
Like other proteins, collagen is made up of amino acid repeating units which form
into polypeptide chains. They however distinguish from other proteins by their triple
© Springer International Publishing 2020
O. Olatunji, Aquatic Biopolymers, Springer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34709-3_12
261
Collagen
Abstract Collagen is obtained from the bones, skins and scales of aquatic animals.
It is made up of three polypeptide chains linked together to form a tertiary structure.
It serves a structural role within the tissue where it provides flexibility within the
tissue matrix. Collagen can be processed into various forms, and it finds applications
in high-value products such as scaffolds in tissue engineering. Aquatic-derived collagen serves as an alternative to porcine or bovine sourced collagen, thus eliminating
associated health risk or ethical concerns associated with the collagen sourced from
these land animals. Since collagen can be obtained from the parts of the aquatic animals that are generally not consumed as food, the production of collagen contributes
toward management of waste resources as well as optimal utilization of aquatic
resources.
Keywords Collagen · Proteins · Biopolymers · Fish · Squids
12.1 Introduction
Collagen is abundant in nature as it is present in the tissue of every animal on land
and in the sea. It is limited to animals; therefore, aquatic plants and algae do not serve
as a source of collagen. Within the aquatic environment, main commercial sources
of collagen are from fish fin, skins and scales (Olatunji and Denloye 2017). Other
aquatic sources of collagen are invertebrates such as squids, starfish and jellyfish
(Benedetto et al. 2014; Tan et al. 2013). Collagen competes with the fish oil, and
fishmeal market as the fish parts is also used in this application. One of the most
common uses of collagen in the industry is in foods where it is mostly used in its
hydrolyzed form. Collagen from fish has been proven to be interchangeable with
bovine and porcine hydrolyzed collagen (Benedetto et al. 2014), with the added
advantage of being free from the risk of diseases such as mad cow diseases which
are associated with the collagen products obtained from these sources. It also serves
as an alternative where ethical or religious concerns exist with hydrolyzed collagen
sourced from bovine or porcine.
Like other proteins, collagen is made up of amino acid repeating units which form
into polypeptide chains. They however distinguish from other proteins by their triple
© Springer International Publishing 2020
O. Olatunji, Aquatic Biopolymers, Springer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34709-3_12
261