Abstract Enormous amounts of by-products and waste are generated during the processing of seafood, sometimes representing about 65% of the raw material employed. Seafood by-products (SB) include solid waste such as skin, head, viscera, trimmings, and bones; however, liquid wastes (effluents) derived from operations such as washing, thawing, cooking and the production of fishmeal are also produced. SB contain considerable amounts of protein and others biomolecules, which has been regularly processed as food ingredients for animal nutrition. But also, sometimes SB are used as fertilizers or discarded to environment without a previous treatment. Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in adding value to the protein material within SB by improving their properties through hydrolysis and thus releasing of peptides with bioactive properties. Thus, this review aims to present an overview of the potential of SB, focused on effluents, as a source of protein hydrolysates, summarizing their methods of production, bioactive property evaluation and structural characteristics.

ABSTRACT The objectives of the present study were to characterize biochemically the proteases present in gastric juices from adults of the southern king crab (Lithodes santolla) and the Chilean rock crab (Cancer edwardsii), to determine the classes of proteases using specific inhibitors, as well as to evaluate the effect of temperature and pH that affect the proteolytic activity. The enzyme activity analysis revealed non-significant differences between the activities of serine proteases (trypsin and chymotrypsin) in both species. On the other hand, acid protease activity in C. edwardsii was significantly higher than in L. santolla. The activity of aspartate proteases was inhibited by Pepstatin A in both species, with no significant differences in the extent of inhibition between them. The maximal enzyme activity detected for both species occurred at alkaline pH. The optimum pH for proteolytic activity was ranged between 7 and 9 for C. edwardsii, and between 7 and 11 for L. santolla. Moreover, the highest proteolytic activity was recorded at 60°C in both species. However, at this temperature, enzyme activity was unstable after 20 min. Finally, collagenase-like activity in the gastric juices was detected for both species; this activity deserves further investigation, considering its biotechnological potential.

Abstract Agave tequilana Weber azul variety is a valuable source of fructans. In this study, a response surface methodology was employed to optimize the extraction yield of fructans from agave pines. A Box Behnken factorial design was applied to evaluate the effects of several conditions such as extraction temperature, water raw material ratio and extraction time on extraction yield. Under the optimum extraction conditions (extraction temperature of 79.1 °C, water raw material ratio of 5.13 mL/g, and extraction time of 1.48 h) fructans extraction yield was 83.12%. The chromatographic profile of the agave crude extract presented four peaks, out of which fructans were the most preponderant (~87%). The obtained results suggest that the response surface methodology is adequate to optimize fructans extraction from Agave tequilana Weber azul variety.