Marine shells: Potential opportunities for extraction of functional and health-promoting materials

Abstract

Marine shell waste is a very rich source of several bioactive compounds and materials, such as calcium, chitin, pigments, and proteins. Currently, this waste material is greatly underutilized and contributes to significant environmental problems due to off-odor and concentration of minerals in landfill. The main objective of this review is to highlight the potential to add value to and maximize the utilization of this waste stream. Therefore, this review provides up-to-date information on various compounds available in marine shells that are generated as waste coproduct from commercial processing operations and their potential uses. Methods are described for extraction of these compounds for use in food and pharmaceutical applications.