Carotenoprotein from tropical brown shrimp shell waste by enzymatic process

While extraction of carotenoprotein from brown shrimp (Metapenaeus monoceros) shell waste, trypsin showed maximum recovery (55%) of carotenoid pigment in 4 hours at (28 +/- 2degreesC); but pepsin and papain showed about 50% recovery during the same period. The yield of protein paste by trypsin was maximum. The average protein content in the protein paste was about 450 g kg(-1). The percent of recovery of protein by papain and pepsin was close to that of trypsin. During storage at ambient temperature (28 +/- 5degreesC) loss of carotenoids from cake prepared by trypsin was minimum. The cost of trypsin is twenty times that of papain. Thus papain, easily available and the cheapest enzyme, can be used suitably for moderate recovery of carotenoids and good recovery of protein from shrimp shell waste at tropical ambient temperature. The dried colorless solid residue after extraction of carotenoprotein and protein, can be used as raw materials for chitin/chitosan.