Fish bone converted into high-quality collagen

Collagen, which is recycled from fish bones using the "green synthesis" method, where plant or animal waste is processed in an environmentally friendly and reliable manner, offers a sustainable solution in waste management.

High-quality collagen obtained through extraction from bones has various uses in the health, food, cosmetics, biomedical sectors and industry.

Speaking to an AA correspondent about the study, Gazi University Technical Sciences Vocational School Chemistry and Chemical Processing Technologies Department faculty member Prof. Dr. Ebru Kondolot Solak said they obtained raw collagen by extracting fish bones and confirmed that the product was collagen through characterization.

Solak stated that they produce the product with an environmentally friendly approach, saying, "By utilizing waste in this way, we are paying our debt to the environment. We are also protecting natural life and the ecosystem."

Solak, pointing out that waste can be recycled and shared back with nature instead of being thrown away, said, "Our work involves both waste utilization and sustainability; we're conducting a green synthesis. We're paving a new path for our students and demonstrating a new synthesis technique in industry. Efficient products can be obtained from many waste materials through green synthesis. Fishbone is just one of these; many more could be planned."

Solak emphasized that the collagen they transformed from fish bones was highly efficient and pure, and stated:

"We used 0.5 molar acetic acid during the extraction process, which is an environmentally friendly extraction process. Therefore, the fish bones were completely converted into collagen. Fish bones, like other waste we collect from nature, are a type of waste that can be utilized without harming the ecosystem. With this technique, we contribute to society in environmental, economic, and social terms."

"When fish waste mixes with the soil, it turns into harmful chemicals"

Seçil Kaya, a faculty member at the Polymer Technology Department of the Vocational School of Technical Sciences at Gazi University and a member of the team that conducted the study, stated that a high amount of fish waste is produced in Türkiye.

Kaya, stating that they analyzed the collagen they obtained, said, "When we compared our analyses with the studies in other articles, we saw that it exhibited the characteristics of type 1 collagen. This is a more biocompatible type of collagen and is used extensively."

Solak noted the following:

"Unfortunately, we are a country dependent on foreign sources for collagen, especially from Far Eastern countries. Fish waste, when mixed with soil, mixes with water through rain, or turns into harmful chemicals during water processing. Therefore, utilizing waste and transforming it into a product like collagen, which is widely used in cosmetics and healthcare, is truly crucial."