Antioxidant activity of collagen extracts obtained from the skin and gills of oreochromis sp.

Efforts aimed at reduction of fishing waste generated during the evisceration and filleting are scarce. The fishing waste is used in the production of low value-added products, such as flours or silages. It is important to visualize an alternative and profitable use of this waste, as it constitutes a serious environmental problem. This research determined the antioxidant properties of collagenous extracts of skin and galls of Oreochromis sp. The raw materials were characterized by proximal chemical analysis. Three treatments were applied to extract the collagen: salt-soluble collagen, acid-soluble collagen (ASC), and pepsin-hydrolyzed collagen (PHC). The collagenous fractions were hydrolyzed (0.1% pepsin). The recovered collagen yield and antioxidant activity were determined to hydrolyzed collagen (HC) and nonhydrolyzed collagen (NHC). The ASC skin showed the highest extraction yield (3.02%). For galls, only the PHC extraction was feasible (0.16%). Antioxidant analysis of NHC did not reveal radical scavenging activities. HC displayed a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl %RSA of 22.58 (ASC skin) and 10.34% (PHC galls), and a 2,2′-azino-bis[3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid] %RSA of 30.40% (PHC skin) and 29.43% (PHC galls), respectively. The ASC skin and PHC gall extracts exhibited 94.40% and 81.54% in ferric-reducing antioxidant power, and 43.63 and 38.08 μg ascorbic acid equivalents per milli liter for total antioxidant capacity, respectively. The collagen extracts showed %RSA and chelation of pro-oxidant metal ions. Different mechanism of antioxidant action was identified for the extracts: radical scavengers for HC and metal ion chelators for NHC. In conclusion, red tilapia skin collagen is recommended as an active ingredient of nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, or functional foods, for the identified bioactive properties.