Considerable attention has been directed to nanoparticles based on gelatin biopolymer due to its numerous available active group sites for attaching target molecules and acting as a drug or nutraceutical delivery system aiming to improve the therapeutic effects and also to reduce the side effects of formulated drugs as gelatin is a natural biodegradable biocompatible polymer, nontoxic, readily available, cheap and is used in parental formulations. With mammalian gelatin (pig and cow) as the major source of gelatin production, alternatives are required due to socio-cultural and health concerns to maintain halal status. This paper aims at reviewing fish skin gelatin from warm water species which can provide a potential alternative source of gelatin with almost the same rheological properties as mammalian gelatin and is a beneficial way to use fish waste such as skin, bones and fin which is generally discarded. The study also entails a lot of research being done in the field of nanoencapsulation of gelatin with various nutraceuticals as well as drug and gene therapy. There is an especially increasing interest in encapsulating biopeptides within gelatin nanoparticles in the functional food industry due to their role in preventing or delaying the onset of various diseases, food fortification, improvement of food quality, increase in shelf life, targeted peptide delivery and hence can be used as additives in food products. This review also attempts to provide an overview of the application of gelatin nanoparticles in nanoencapsulation in the food industry. (C) All Rights Reserved

Gelatin is one of the most widely used food ingredients, with wide applications in the food industry. It was reported that 41% of the gelatin produced in the world is sourced from pig skin, 28.5% from bovine hides and 29.5% from bovine bones. However, factors such as the outbreak of BSE (a.k.a. mad cow disease) and increasing demand for non-mammalian gelatin for halal and kosher food markets have revived interest in gelatin replacers from plant sources. In this study, we have successfully extracted valuable pectin-as gelatin replacer--from various types of plant wastes. Pectin is a high value functional food ingredient widely used as a gelling agent and stabilizer. It is also an abundant, ubiquitous and multifunctional component of the cell walls of all land plants. Mango peel was screened as the ideal source for high-yield (36.6%) pectin of satisfactory quality. The results indicate that citric acid was the best solution for recovery of pectin from mango peels. An extraction temperature of 90 degrees C and pH 2 provided the optimum conditions for maximum yield of pectin. The resulting crude mango peel pectin (CMPP) was analyzed for physicochemical parameters. The results indicated values for ash content (0.0412%), moisture content (0.303%), viscosity (45.18%), galacturonic acid content (36.8-37.2-40%) and degree of esterification (38.3-41%). Following analysis of its gelling properties and sensory evaluation, CMPP has good potential to be applied in the food industry as a low-methoxyl pectin and a cheap source of gelatin replacer for jam preparations. (C) All Rights Reserved

Extraction of gelatin using traditional acid-base pretreatment method has several limitations such as time consuming and causes serious water pollution. Chemical treatment often being used as an alternative process to overcome the weaknesses of the conventional method. However, excessive chemical elements would damage the structure of the gelatin due to its high sensitivity to the acid content. High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a novel and environmental friendly method that has been suggested to assist gelatin extraction. Pressurization during pretreatment could reduce the extraction time and amount of acid used. It also has a potential in enhancing the properties of the gelatin extract and increasing the gelatin yield. In this research, One-Factor-at-Time (OFAT) and optimization study were done to determine the optimum parameters for extraction of gelatin assisted by HPP from red tilapia skin. Four parameters; applied pressure, pressure holding time, ratio of acid to skin and extraction time have been selected for the OFAT design and concentration of the gelatin extract and percentage of yield gelatin were evaluated. From OFAT, optimum technical parameters for response surface optimization design were 250 MPa pressure, 7.5 ml of acid to 1 g of skin and 12 hours extraction time. Pressure holding time was fixed for 10 min. FCCCD has been used for optimization study. Results from the data shows that the optimum conditions for gelatin extraction from red tilapia skin were 250 MPa for pressure, 10 min of pressure holding time, 7.5 ml of acid for 1 g of skin and 12 hours of extraction time while the maximum concentration and yield were 19.51 mg/ml and 32.04% (320.4 mg/g), respectively. These findings proved that HPP could increase the concentration and the yield of the gelatin while reducing the chemical waste and shortening the extraction process. (C) All Rights Reserved