Effect of invasive blue crab chitosan coating on extending the shelf life and quality of fresh strawberry fruits

Abstract

The diversity of marine biomasses is a set of exploitable and renewable resources with application in several sectors. The blue crab was considered as a threat by the Tunisian fishermen in 2014, since it induces several damages on nets but also on captures. In addition, in 2017, the Tunisian State launched a plan to exploit and promote this species of crab. In the context of valuation, the chitin was isolated by a conventional chemical method from the shell of blue crabs. The efficiency of chitin extraction from Callinectes sapidus (C. sapidus) was achieved with a yield of 27.6 %.Then; the chitosan was prepared by N-deacetylation of chitin with a yield of 16 %, leading to a degree of acetylation (DA) of 89.9%. For Portunus segnis (P. segnis) the yield of chitin was 31.2% while the chitosan yield was 20% and the degree of acetylation was 79.9% After these analyzes, it can be deduced that chitosan has a high degree of purity and that it is considered effective for the preservation of strawberries in favor of its antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity.