JFS C: Food Chemistry & Toxicology

Characterization of Edible Film Fabricated

with Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) Gelatin
Extract Using Selected Pretreatment Methods
S. ZHANG, Y. WANG, J.L. HERRING, AND J.-H. OH
C: Food Chemistry & Toxicology

ABSTRACT: Farm-raised catfish are important to the economy of the southeastern states in the United States, and
catfish processing produces about 55% of by-products for inexpensive sale. Therefore, the utilization of catfish by-
products is of great interest to the catfish industry. The objectives of this research were to determine the optimum
pretreatment method to extract catfish gelatin for edible film application, and to characterize physical, mechanical,
and barrier properties of edible films fabricated with catfish skin gelatin. Catfish skins obtained from a local plant
were treated with 6 selected pretreatment methods. The main extraction was performed with deionized water at 50 ◦ C
after pretreatment. The gelatin yield was calculated and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
(SDS-PAGE) was performed to characterize molecular weight (MW) profile. Color, tensile strength (TS), elongation,
and water barrier property were determined to characterize the fabricated catfish gelatin films. From the results of
gelatin yield, color, SDS-PAGE, as well as mechanical and barrier properties of the film, the pretreatment method with
0.25 M NaOH and 0.09 M acetic acid, followed by extraction at 50 ◦ C for 3 h, was determined as the optimum extraction
method. The catfish gelatin exhibited higher MW fractions than commercial mammalian gelatin. The catfish gelatin
extracts possessed film-forming properties determined by TS, elongation, and water vapor permeability (WVP)
comparable to those of commercial mammalian gelatin. The selected formula for catfish gelatin film was determined
as 1% gelatin and 20% glycerol, resulting in greatest TS and lowest WVP.
Keywords: catfish, extraction, gelatin, gelatin film, pretreatment

Introduction Due to the outbreaks of transmissible spongiform encephalopa-

G elatin is one of the important biopolymers widely used in the

manufacture of gel desserts, edible films in food industries,
and hard/soft capsules in pharmaceutical industries (Choi and Re-
genstein 2000; Baziwane and He 2003). Gelatin possesses excellent
film-forming properties, and is one of the 1st materials applied to ed-
ible coatings and films (Klose and others 1952; Gennadios and oth-
ers 1994). Collagen, the parental form of gelatin, is abundant in the
skins and bones of animals and fish. The extraction of gelatin from
collagen involves several steps such as alkali and/or acid pretreat-
ments for collagen hydrolysis, followed by the main extraction in
water above 45 ◦ C (Wainerwright 1977; Montero and Gòmez-Guillèn
2000). The method of pretreatment and extraction greatly affects the
physicochemical properties of the extracted gelatin (Montero and
Gòmez-Guillèn 2000). Two types of gelatins are obtained from se-
lected treatments: acid pretreatment yields Type A gelatin, whereas
alkaline pretreatment yields Type B gelatin (Gennadios and oth-
ers 1994). Industrial and commercial gelatins are mainly produced
from mammalian sources such as bovine hide, pigskin, and bones
(Johnston-Banks 1990; Venien and Levieux 2005). The source, age
of the animal, and type of collagen influence the physicochemical
properties of the gelatin.
MS 20070284 Submitted 4/17/2007, Accepted 8/7/2007. Authors Zhang and
Oh are with Dept. of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Tuskegee Univ.,
Tuskegee, AL 36088, U.S.A. Author Wang is with Dept. of Biosystems En-
gineering, Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL 36849, U.S.A. Author Herring is
with Dept. of Food and Animal Sciences, Alabama A&M Univ., P.O. Box
1682, Normal, AL 35762, U.S.A. Direct inquiries to author Oh (E-mail:
jhoh@tuskegee.edu).
thy and religious concerns, the alternative gelatins to replace mam-
malian gelatin obtained from bovine or porcine skin and bones
are gaining increasing attention (Muyonga and others 2004; Zhou
and Regenstein 2004). Fish gelatin is an excellent alternative gelatin
source, especially for specific religious populations, as a kosher or
halal food (Muyonga and others 2004). Therefore, the utilization of
fish gelatin can broaden the applications of gelatin to diverse food
products as an alternative gelatin source (Gudmundsson and Haf-
steinsson 1997).
The major challenges in utilizing fish gelatins are the dark color,
strong fishy odor, and poor gel and film properties of the fish gelatins
(Montero and Gòmez-Guillèn 2000). There are extensive reports on
extraction of gelatins from fish skins such as tilapia (Grossman and
Bergman 1992), cod (Gudmundsson and Hafsteinsson 1997), hake
(Montero and others 1999), megrim (Montero and Gòmez-Guillèn
2000), and pollock (Zhou and Regenstein 2004). Since the amino
acid compositions of gelatin from selected fish species are signif-
icantly different, the functionality of selected fish gelatins such as
film-forming properties may be also different (Avena-Bustillos and
others 2006). Few studies indicated that the warm-water fish gelatins
exhibited better functional properties than cold-water fish gelatins
(Muyonga and others 2004; Avena-Bustillos and others 2006). There
is limited research with respect to the physical and mechanical
characteristics of edible films fabricated from fish gelatins. Avena-
Bustillos and others (2006) reported that the edible film fabricated
from fish gelatin exhibited lower water vapor permeability (WVP)
than that of edible film fabricated from mammalian gelatin.
Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is one of the warm-water
catfish species, and widely produced in the southern areas in the

C498 JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE—Vol. 72, Nr. 9, 2007 

C 2007 Institute of Food Technologists
doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2007.00515.x
Further reproduction without permission is prohibited
Characterization of catfish gelatin film . . .
United States. Farm-raised catfish production in the United States
is approximately 300,000 tons per year (NASS 2006), and catfish
processing produces about 55% of by-products for inexpensive sale
(Prinyawiwatkul and others 2002). Catfish skins, which account for
about 6% of live weight, are presently rendered with little added
value. Little research was conducted on extracting gelatin from cat-
fish skins, evaluating the physicochemical properties of catfish skin
gelatin, or applying catfish gelatin to edible coating or films (Yang
and others 2007). Therefore, the objectives of this study were to
determine the optimum pretreatment method for catfish gelatin
extraction, and to characterize physical, mechanical, and barrier
properties of edible films fabricated from catfish skin gelatin.
Materials and Methods
Preparation and cleaning catfish skins
Frozen catfish skins were obtained from the Harvest Se-
lect Inc. plant (Uniontown, Ala., U.S.A.). Catfish skins were
trimmed to remove the residual fish meat and fin, cut into small
pieces (approximately 20 × 20 mm2 ), and washed with 4 ◦ C
deionized (D.I.) water 3 times. The cleaned fish skins were drained
and squeezed using cheesecloth for 5 min to remove excessive water
(Zhou and Regenstein 2004).
Pretreatment of catfish skins prior to main extraction
Six pretreatment methods with selected conditions were applied
to the catfish skins prior to the extraction. Pretreatment Method A
was performed with acid treatment; 40 g of cleaned catfish skin were
soaked in 240 mL of 0.09 M acetic acid at 4 ◦ C for 1 h. Pretreatment
Methods B and C were performed with acid and alkali treatments;
40 g of cleaned catfish skin were soaked in 240 mL of 0.09 M acetic
acid at 4 ◦ C for 1 h and washed with 4 ◦ C D.I. water 5 times, followed
by soaking in 240 mL of 0.25 M sodium hydroxide at 4 ◦ C for 1 h
(Pretreatment Method B); and 40 g of catfish skins were soaked in
240 mL of 0.25 M sodium hydroxide at 4 ◦ C for 1 h and washed with
4 ◦ C D.I. water 5 times, followed by soaking in 240 mL of 0.09 M acetic
acid at 4 ◦ C for 1 h (Pretreatment Method C). Pretreatment Method
D involved alkali treatment; 40 g of catfish skins were soaked in 240
mL of 0.25 M sodium hydroxide at 4 ◦ C for 1 h.
Pretreatment Methods E and F were adopted from the procedures
developed by Grossman and Bergman (1992) with minor modifica-
tions. Cleaned catfish skins (25 g) were soaked in 350 mL of 0.05 M
sodium hydroxide solution for 2 h, and fresh sodium hydroxide solu-
tion was replaced 3 times at 40-min intervals during alkali soaking.
After alkali treatment, the catfish skins were washed with D.I. water
5 times, and then soaked in 350 mL of 0.02 M sulfuric acid solution
for 2 h with 3 changes of sulfuric acid solution at 40-min intervals.
The catfish skins were washed with D.I. water 5 times, and soaked
in 350 mL of 0.05 M citric acid for 2 h with 3 changes of citric acid
solution at 40-min intervals. All procedures were carried out at 4 ◦ C
(Pretreatment Method E). For Pretreatment Method F, similar pro-
cedures as Pretreatment Method E were applied except that all the
procedures were performed at room temperature instead of 4 ◦ C. Af-
ter applying the pretreatment methods described above, the catfish
skins were washed with D.I. water 5 times, drained, and squeezed
using cheesecloth prior to the extraction.
Gelatin extraction
The pretreated catfish skins were placed into a flask for gelatin ex-
traction. The gelatin extraction of catfish skins pretreated with Pre-
treatment Methods A, B, C, and D was conducted with 120 mL of D.I.
water at 50 ◦ C for 3 h in a water bath. The catfish skins pretreated with
Pretreatment Methods E and F were extracted with 250 mL of D.I.
water at 50 ◦ C for 16 h in a water bath. The catfish gelatin extracts were
filtered through glass wool, and freeze-dried prior to further work.
Gelatin yield
The protein concentration of catfish gelatin extracts was deter-
mined by the Biuret method using bovine serum albumin as a stan-
dard. The gelatin yield expressed by protein yield was calculated
using the following Eq. (1) (Zhou and Regenstein 2005):
Protein yield (%) =
protein concentration (g/mL) × volume of extract (mL)
× 100
weight of catfish skin (g)
(1)
C: Food Chemistry & Toxicology
SDS-PAGE
Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
(SDS-PAGE) was performed with a Ready Gel Precast Gel System
(Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Hercules, Calif., U.S.A.) to determine
the molecular weight (MW) profile of the catfish gelatin extracts
(Laemmli 1970). A precast 4% stacking gel and 10% to 20% con-
tinuous gradient separating gel (Sigma Chemical Co., Saint Louis,
Mo., U.S.A.) were used. After measuring the protein concentrations,
the gelatin extracts were diluted to approximately 1.0 mg/mL with
62.5 mM Tris buffer and boiled for 3 min in a water bath. An aliquot of
15 μL from each catfish gelatin diluent was loaded onto the stacking
gel. The PageRulerTM Prestained Protein Ladder Plus MW marker
mix (Fermentas, Hanover, Md., U.S.A.) with MW ranging from 10 to
250 kDa was used as a standard to determine the MW profiles of
catfish gelatin extracts. An electrical field of 0.4 V/mm was applied
to the gel, and increased to 0.75 V/mm once the dye fronts reach the
separating gel.
Preparation of catfish gelatin film
The film-forming solutions of catfish gelatin were prepared by
dissolving designated amounts of gelatin extracts in distilled water
at 55 ◦ C with designated amounts of glycerol as a plasticizer. Com-
mercial mammalian gelatin of 275 bloom (Gelatin Type A, Fisher
Scientific Ltd., Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.A.) as a control was also used
for film fabrication. The catfish films were cast from 1% gelatin and
20% glycerol in film-forming solutions to determine the effects of
pretreatment methods on the functional properties of catfish film.
The selective gelatin concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 2.5% at
0.5% intervals with 20% glycerol were used to determine the opti-
mum gelatin concentration for film fabrication. The selective glyc-
erol contents ranging from 0% to 70% with 10% intervals were also
tested to determine the optimum glycerol content for film fabri-
cation. The catfish gelatin films were cast and dried following the
similar procedures developed by Oh and others (2004) with minor
modifications. The film-forming solution (50 mL) of catfish extracts
was cast into a 140-mm-diameter glass Petri dish coated with Teflon
tape, leveled, and dehydrated in an environmental chamber (Model
435314, Hotpack Corp., Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A.) at 25 ◦ C and 50%
relative humidity for 48 h. The catfish films were carefully peeled off
and conditioned in the same environmental chamber for 24 h prior
to further characterization.
Color determination of gelatin film
Hunter color scale of L, a, and b of catfish films was determined
using a CR-300 Minolta Chromameter (Minolta Camera Co., Osaka,
Japan). The light source was illuminant C and the white plate (CR-
A43; L = 96.86, a = −0.02, and b = 1.99) provided by the manufacturer
was used for calibration and background.
Vol. 72, Nr. 9, 2007—JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE C499
 Characterization of catfish gelatin film . . .
Mechanical properties
Tensile strength (TS) and percent elongation (%E) of catfish
gelatin films were determined by following the standard procedures
of ASTM D 882-97 (ASTM 1998) using a Mini-44 Instron (Instron Co.,
Canton, Mass., U.S.A.). The catfish gelatin films conditioned in an
environmental chamber at 25 ◦ C and 50% relative humidity for 16 h
were cut into 20 × 50 mm2 strips, and the thickness of each strip at
3 locations (top, center, and bottom) was measured and recorded
using a hand-held electronic digital micrometer (Marathon Watch
Co. Ltd., Ontario, Canada). The mean of the 3 thickness measure-
ments of each strip was used to calculate TS and %E of the film. Each
strip was fastened onto screw-action grips with 20-mm initial gap
(the distance between the top and bottom grip), and the strip was
C: Food Chemistry & Toxicology
stretched by the grips at a head speed of 50 mm/min until broken.
TS of catfish gelatin films was calculated using the following Eq. (2):
Peak load(N)
TS =
Initial cross − sectional area (m2 )
Percent elongation (%E) was calculated using the following Eq. (3):
Final gap (mm)
%E = × 100
Initial gap (mm)
Water vapor permeability
WVP was determined following the ASTM E96-95 standard
method (ASTM 1999) using Fisher permeability cups (Fisher Scien-
tific Ltd.). The catfish gelatin films were cut into 55-mm-diameter
circles, and the thickness of the film cut was measured at 5 selected
locations in the circle (top, bottom, left, and right 10 mm from the
edge and center). The mean of the film thickness was used to cal-
culate WVP. Each circle was mounted on the test cell and tightly
screwed with the top cover. A thin layer of silicone high vacuum
grease (Dow Corning, Midland, Mich., U.S.A.) was used as sealant
to avoid vapor leaks through cup joints. After measuring the ini-
tial weight, the test cups were placed in an environmental chamber
(Model 435314, Hotpack Corp.) at 25 ◦ C and 50% relative humidity
for 24 h, and then the weight changes of the cups were recorded.
The WVP of the films was calculated using the following Eq. (4):
WVP (g/Pa/S/m)
= water permeance (g/Pa/S/m2 ) × thickness (m)
where water permeance = WVT/P, WVT = weight change/[time
(h) × area (m2 )], and P = vapor pressure difference across the film
(mmHg).
Statistical analysis
Each experiment was repeated 6 times. One-way analysis of vari-
ance (ANOVA) was performed using SPSS software (version 11.5,
SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill., U.S.A.). The differences among means were Table 1 --- The color of catfish gelatin films fabricated from
analyzed using least significant difference, and the significance level the gelatin extracted using selected pretreatment meth-
was defined at P < 0.05.
Results and Discussion
Gelatin yield
The gelatin yields expressed by protein yields from the selected
Pretreatment Methods, A, B, C, D, E, and F, were 20.73%, 20.77%,
18.22%, 19.59%, 23.32%, and 23.06%, respectively. The Pretreat-
ment Methods E and F apparently resulted in higher gelatin yields ∗
Different letters within the columns indicate significant differences between the
than other selected pretreatment methods, probably due to longer means obtained by 1-way ANOVA test (P ≤ 0.05).
C500 JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE—Vol. 72, Nr. 9, 2007
extraction time. The gelatin yield extracted from Alaskan pollock
skin using the pretreatment method similar to Pretreatment Method
C was approximately 18% (Zhou and Regenstein 2004). Gudmunds-
son and Hafsteinsson (1997) also obtained gelatin yields of 11% to
14% from cod skin using a similar Pretreatment Method of F with
selected alkaline and acid concentrations.
Color of catfish gelatin film
The gelatin solutions extracted from Pretreatment Methods A,
C, E, and F, in which acid pretreatments were applied prior to the
main extraction, were transparent. However, the gelatin solutions
obtained from Pretreatment Methods B and D, that involved in al-
kali treatments prior to the main extraction, exhibited dark colors
when checked visually. The edible films fabricated with the catfish
gelatins extracted using Pretreatment Methods A, C, E, and F were
transparent accordingly, and exhibited similar L, a, and b values
to the edible film fabricated with commercial mammalian gelatin
(2)
(Table 1). The catfish films fabricated with the gelatins using Pre-
treatment Method B and D exhibited darker colors than the catfish
films fabricated from other gelatin extracts or commercial mam-
malian gelatin (P < 0.05). Gudmundsson and Hafsteinsson (1997)
(3) reported that the gelatin extracts with sulfuric acid and sodium
hydroxide at less than 0.2% exhibited unacceptable in clarity and
color. Our results indicated that pretreatments at acidic solution
with low pH prior to the main extraction resulted in transparent
gelatin, whereas pretreatments at basic solution with high pH prior
to main extraction resulted in dark-colored gelatin.
SDS-PAGE
The electrophoretic profile of catfish gelatins extracted using 6
selected pretreatment methods is presented in Figure 1. The SDS-
PAGE band profiles of catfish gelatins, except for those of gelatin ob-
tained using Pretreatment Method C, indicated similar MW ranges
to the commercial mammalian gelatin (lane G), exhibiting a typi-
cal darker band at the MW of 120 to 130 kDa. The catfish gelatin
extracted using Pretreatment Method C exhibited 2 major protein
bands at approximately 250 kDa and 120 kDa and several minor
bands above the MW of 250 kDa. According to Zhou and Regen-
stein (2005), the band at 250 kDa is the β-chain of collagen and the
band at 120 kDa is the α-chain of collagen. The gelatins extracted
by the pretreatments methods other than Pretreatment Method C
(4) exhibited very weak and broad bands around 120 kDa, indicat-
ing the α-chains might be broken to smaller sizes during extrac-
tion. In the process of converting collagen to gelatin, the breakage
of the interchain chemical bonds and to some degree of intra-
chain polypeptide bonds occurs, which results in gelatins of a wide
range of MW (Zhou and others 2006). Gelatin with high contents of
α-chain molecules possesses better functional properties (Gòmez-
Guillèn and others 2002). Therefore, it is predicted that the
gelatin extracted using Pretreatment Method C may exhibit better
ods.
Pretreatment method L a b
Commercial gelatin 98.40 ± 0.46a∗ −0.04 ± 0.04a 2.30 ± 0.11a
A 98.31 ± 0.38a −0.05 ± 0.03a 2.41 ± 0.13a
B 93.21 ± 0.96b 0.72 ± 0.11b 4.17 ± 0.44b
C 97.89 ± 0.18a −0.10 ± 0.02a 2.60 ± 0.09a
D 90.85 ± 0.93c 0.89 ± 0.16c 4.94 ± 0.47b
E 98.19 ± 0.40a 0.04 ± 0.02a 1.87 ± 0.18a
F 98.56 ± 0.42a 0.05 ± 0.02a 1.95 ± 0.16a
Characterization of catfish gelatin film . . .

characteristics for edible film than the gelatin extracted using other The %E of catfish gelatin films exhibited an opposite trend to
pretreatment methods. the TS of the film in that the catfish gelatin films with greater TS
exhibited smaller %E. The %E of catfish gelatin fabricated from
Mechanical and barrier properties of films the gelatin with Pretreatment Method C exhibited smaller %E than
with selected pretreatment methods the %E with other pretreatment methods. The results indicate that
Prior to determining the optimum gelatin and glycerol contents Pretreatment Method C is the optimal extraction method to fabri-
for catfish gelatin film, 1% gelatin and 20% glycerol contents were cate catfish gelatin films among the tested pretreatment methods,
chosen for the formula for catfish gelatin films, based on the lit- exhibiting comparable mechanical strength to commercial gelatin
erature (Sobral and others 2001; Jongjareonrak and others 2006). film. This is in agreement with the SDS-PAGE profile in Figure 1, in
The selected pretreatment methods for catfish gelatin extraction re- that the gelatin extracted using Pretreatment Method C contained
sulted in different mechanical properties determined by TS and %E higher MW, resulting in better mechanical strength. There are exten-
(Figure 2). The overall TS ranges of catfish gelatin films fabricated sive reports that the gelatin films with higher MW exhibited better
were between 8 and 62 MPa. The greatest TS was obtained from mechanical strengths determined by TS and elongation (Muyonga

C: Food Chemistry & Toxicology

the catfish gelatin film fabricated from the gelatin with Pretreat- and others 2004; Jongjareonrak and others 2006).
ment Method C, exhibiting comparable TS to the TS of commercial WVP of 1% catfish gelatin films with selected pretreatment meth-
gelatin film (62 MPa). The mechanical strength determined by TS of ods is presented in Figure 3. The WVP of catfish gelatin films was
−10
the film with Pretreatment Method C was better than the strength between 3.2 and 5.8 × 10 g/Pa/s/m, exhibiting greater WVP than
of fish gelatin films fabricated with gelatin extracted from bigeye the WVP of fish gelatin films from bigeye snapper or brownstripe red
−10
snapper or brownstripe red snapper skins (Jongjareonrak and others snapper skins (1.12 to 1.37 × 10 g/Pa/s/m) (Jongjareonrak and
2006). others 2006). The catfish gelatin films fabricated with the gelatin us-
ing Pretreatment Methods B, E, and F exhibited significantly greater
WVP than the films fabricated from the gelatin using Pretreatment
Methods A, C, D, or commercial gelatin (P < 0.05). The WVP of the
latter catfish gelatin films exhibited comparable WVP of commercial
gelatin.
Therefore, based on the results on the mechanical and barrier
properties of catfish gelatin films with selected pretreatment meth-
ods, Pretreatment Method C was determined as the optimum pre-
treatment method to extract catfish gelatin for edible film fabrica-
tion. The catfish gelatin film fabricated from the gelatin extract using
Pretreatment Method C exhibited comparable mechanical and wa-
ter barrier properties to the film fabricated from commercial mam-
malian gelatin.

Mechanical and barrier properties of films

with selected gelatin contents
The TS of catfish gelatin films significantly increased (P < 0.05)
from 27.1 MPa to 61.7 MPa, and elongation also significantly in-
Figure 1 --- Representative SDS-PAGE profile of catfish creased from 105.1% to 115.1%, when the gelatin contents increased
gelatin extracted using 6 selected pretreatment meth- from 0.5% to 1% (Figure 4). There was no further significant increase
ods. A to F: Catfish gelatin from Pretreatment Methods A
in TS beyond the 1% gelatin content. A similar trend observed in the
to F. G: Commercial and mammalian gelatin. S: Molecular
weight standard.
8

80 400
Tensile Strenth
%Elongation
6
Water Vapor Permeability

60 300
(10 -10 g/Pa.s.m)
Tensile Strength (MPa)

% Elongation

4
40 200

2
20 100

0
0 0
A B C D E F G
A B C D E F G
Pretreatment Method Pretreatment Method

Figure 2 --- Tensile strength and percentage elongation of Figure 3 --- Water vapor permeability of 1% catfish gelatin
1% catfish gelatin films with selected pretreatment meth- films with selected pretreatment methods. A to F: Pre-
ods. A to F: Pretreatment Methods A to F. G: Commercial treatment Methods A to F. G: Commercial mammalian
mammalian gelatin. gelatin.

Vol. 72, Nr. 9, 2007—JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE C501

 Characterization of catfish gelatin film . . .

TS was observed in the %E of the catfish gelatin film as well. The
results indicated that catfish gelatin film exhibited the best TS and
%E with 1% catfish gelatin content. Both TS and %E of the catfish
gelatin film exhibited greater values than the values of fish films from
brownstrip red snapper or bigeye snapper skins (Jongjareonrak and
others 2006). Jongjareonrak and others reported that the greatest
TS and elongation of the films fabricated from bigeye snapper skin
gelatin were 44.3 MPa and 107.0%, respectively, and the greatest TS
and elongation of the films fabricated from brownstripe red snapper
skin were 58.1 MPa and 108.2%, respectively.
WVP increased with the increase in gelatin contents from 0.5% to
2.5% (Figure 5). In general, as the gelatin content increases, the WVP
increases exhibiting poor water barrier properties (McHugh and oth-
C: Food Chemistry & Toxicology
ever, the TS rapidly decreased to 12.7 MPa when the glycerol con-
tent increased from 20% to 70% (Figure 6). On the contrary, the %E
of the films were increased as the glycerol content was increased.
Glycerol as a plasticizer is a hydrophilic small molecule that can
self-incorporate into protein chains to form hydrogen bonds with
proteins (Sobral and others 2001). When glycerol is incorporated
into the gelatin film network, the interactions between the protein
chains are reduced; therefore, the flexibility of the films is increased.
Our results are in agreement with other reports that the decrease in
TS and increase in elongation due to the increase in glycerol content
(Lim and others 1999; Jongjareonrak and others 2006).
The WVP increased with the increase in glycerol contents as pre-
sented in Figure 7. There was a significant increase in WVP beyond

ers 1993; Jongjareonrak and others 2006). Jongjareonrak and others 30% glycerol content (P < 0.05). Considering the mechanical prop-
(2006) speculated that since fish gelatin contained large amounts erties and water barrier properties of 1% gelatin film, 20% glycerol
of hydrophilic amino acids, fish gelatin films with large amount of content was determined as the optimum content for catfish film
gelatin could adsorb more water from the environment exhibiting fabrication.
large WVP.
Conclusions
Mechanical and barrier properties of films
with selected glycerol contents T
his study demonstrated significant effects of selected pretreat-
ment methods applied to gelatin extraction on gelatin yield,
The TS of catfish gelatin films was increased from 46.6 MPa to color, MW profiles of catfish gelatin extracts, as well as mechanical
57.5 MPa when the glycerol content increased from 0% to 20%; how- and water barrier properties of catfish gelatin fabricated with the

80 140
Tensile Strenth
%Elongation 300 300
120
Tensile Strenth
60 %Elongation
100 250 250
Tensile Strength (MPa)

% Elongation

Tensile Strength (MPa)

80 200 200

% Elongation
40
60
150 150

40
20 100 100

20
50 50

0 0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Gelatin (%)
Glycerol (%)
Figure 4 --- Tensile strength and percentage elongation of
catfish gelatin films fabricated from selected contents of Figure 6 --- Tensile strength and percentage elongation of
gelatin with Pretreatment Method C. catfish gelatin films fabricated with selected glycerol
contents.

7 7

6 6
Water Vapor Permeability

5
Water Vapor Permeability

5
(10 -10 g/Pa.s.m)

(10 -10 g/Pa.s.m)

4 4

3
3

2
2

1
1

0
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 0
Gelatin Conent (%) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Glycerol Content (%)
Figure 5 --- Water vapor permeability of catfish gelatin
films fabricated from selected contents of gelatin with Figure 7 --- Water vapor permeability of catfish gelatin
Pretreatment Method C. films fabricated with selected glycerol contents.

C502 JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE—Vol. 72, Nr. 9, 2007

Characterization of catfish gelatin film . . .
gelatin extracts using selected pretreatment methods. The catfish
gelatin films fabricated with the gelatin extracted from the optimum
pretreatment methods exhibited comparable film properties to the
commercial mammalian gelatin film. The results indicate that cat-
fish skin by-products can be utilized to extract catfish gelatin with
potential application to fabrication of gelatin film as an alternative
gelatin source to the mammalian gelatin.
Acknowledgments
This research project was funded by the Alabama Agricultural Land
Grant Alliance (AALGA).
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