The Enzyme Activity of Trypsen on Sheepskin Trimmings in a Two-Step Collagen Extraction Process

The extraction of collagen from raw sheepskin trimmings was studied in a two-step process. In the first step trypsin was used to perform an enzyme digestion. Subsequently, an extraction was carried out with a 0.5 molar acetic acid solution. The temperature, pH and enzyme concentration were varied in the enzyme digestion step and their influence on this step's extract was examined. Conditions in the second step were kept constant in order to assess the influence of first step variables on the overall process. In all cases, the evolution of the response was analysed as a function of digestion time. The main findings were the following: there was low enzyme activity in the first hour of digestion and initial pH had a significant influence on the overall process. A 5.8 percent yield of collagen was extracted with respect to the dry skin. This yield was limited by the second step.