Physico-Chemical Characteristics and Antibacterial Activity of Chitosan Extracted from Shell of Crab Paratelphusa hydrodromous

In this study, chitosan was extracted from fresh water crab Paratelphusa hydrodromous shells. In order to determine physico-chemical characteristics of the extracted chitosan, the yield, water and fat binding capacities were measured. In addition, the antibacterial activity of chitosan against Yersinia ruckeri fish pathogenic bacteria was investigated in this study. The results showed that chitosan solution at 0.5 g/kg markedly inhibited the growth of Yersinia ruckeri fish pathogenic bacteria. The results of the study indicate that crab shells are a rich source of chitosan as 38.23 of the shell's dry weight is consisted of this material. Extracted chitosan were exhibited a lower molecular weight and higher water and fat binding capacities Overall, the results indicated that chitosan was a potential bactericide against bacterial fish pathogen yersinia ruckeri.