Effect of ultrasonication on the yield, functional and physicochemical characteristics of collagen-II from chicken sternal cartilage

The aim of this study was to extract collagen from chicken sternal cartilage with ultrasound for various times to investigate the effects of ultrasonic waves and, cavitation energy on the yield, functional and physicochemical characteristics of collagen. The highest yield of collagen was 84.14% based on protein weight after ultrasonic treatment for 36 min. Using SDS-PAGE, the extracted protein was identified as collagen-II and its structural integrity was observed using scanning electron microscopy. The triple helical structure remained the same, but some changes in the secondary structure were observed after longer ultrasonication treatments (36 min). The amino acid profile exhibited high thermal stability. The rheological and functional characteristics of collagen were also considerably improved after ultrasonication for the optimal period (24 min). The ultrasonication treatment is an effective process for the extraction of collagen-II from land animal co-products, which will further meet the increasing industrial demand.