Comparison Studies on the Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Gelatin Extracted from Red Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) Fish Skin and Bovine Skin using Chemical Pre-treatment

Gelatin is widely used in the food industry as a thickening agent, emulsifier, wetting agent, and stabilizer. However, traditional sources like mammalian gelatin face sociocultural and health-related challenges, while poultry gelatin is affected by avian flu issues. To overcome these limitations, recent studies have focused on alternative gelatin sources, prompting this investigation. This study aimed to extract gelatin from red skin tilapia and bovine sources. Prior to hydrolysis, both gelatins underwent pre-treatment using 0.2 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and 0.05 M acetic acid (CH₃COOH) at 60 °C for 3 hours. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis confirmed that the extracted gelatins displayed comparable peaks to commercial gelatin. In terms of gel strength, the extracted fish gelatin (EFG) exhibited higher strength than commercial fish gelatin (CFG). However, for bovine gelatin, the commercial variant (CBG) demonstrated superior gel strength compared to the extracted bovine gelatin (EBG). The study also assessed foaming capacity, with EFG displaying a higher capacity than EBG. This investigation highlighted the potential of EFG and EBG for commercial gelatin applications due to their promising physicochemical and functional properties. By exploring alternative gelatin sources, this research can offer new possibilities for the food industry.