Extraction and characterization of chitin from granary weevil, Sitophilus granaries L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract

Insect chitin has been extracted from granary weevil - Sitophilus granarius L, commonly called wheat weevil in laboratory by treating it with 1 M HCl and 1 M NaOH. This was followed by decolorization. The yield of chitin from this species is 20.2%. The chemical structure and physicochemical properties of α-chitin was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy. Chitin exhibited similar chemical structures and physicochemical properties to earlier investigated chitin form different insect as well as commercial chitin. The Degree of Acetylation (DA) value for chitin was 97.48% and chitin crystalline index (CrI) was 78.77%. Thus it is a promising alternative for source of chitin.

Keywords

• sitophilus granaries
• chitin
• characterization
• ftir
• xrd
• sem