Preparation and functional characterisation of fish skin gelatin and comparison with commercial gelatin

Summary Gelatin was extracted from the skin of farmed giant catfish ( GC ) and tilapia ( TP ) at a yield of 19.50% and 23.34% (wet wt). It was high in protein (84–88%) but low in fat (0.09–1.24%) and ash content (0.15–0.17%). The GC exhibited lower emulsifying activity (24–35%), but greater foam ability (98–110%), water holding capacity (477–844%) and fat binding capacity (2541–3314%) than commercial beef skin gelatin (BF) ( P  < 0.05). GC and TP showed comparable functional properties to BF . SDS ‐ PAGE patterns of TP gelatin showed high band intensity for the α‐ and β‐components, while the lowest band intensity of the major component was found in the BF . From the study, it can be concluded that the farmed freshwater fish skin GC and TP is a prospective source for producing a significant gelatin yield with desirable functionalities. Because of these, fish skin gelatin could be more effectively and widely used in food industries as a good food ingredient.