Prospects of red king crab hepatopancreas processing: Fundamental and applied biochemistry

Abstract

Since the early 1980s, a large number of studies on enzymes from the red king crab hepatopancreas were conducted. They have been relevant both from a fundamental point of view in terms of studying the enzymes of marine organisms and in terms of rational natural resource management aimed to obtain new valuable products from the processing of crab fishing waste. Most of these works were performed by Russian scientists due to the area and amount of waste of red king crab processing in Russia (or the Soviet Union). However, the close phylogenetic kinship and the similar ecological niches of commercial crab species and the production scale of the catch provide the bases for the successful transfer of experience in the processing of the red king crab hepatopancreas to other commercial crab species caught worldwide. This review describes the value of recycled commercial crab species, discusses processing problems, and suggests possible solutions for these issues. The main emphasis is made on hepatopancreatic enzymes as the most salubrious products of red king crab waste processing.