Animal proteins have become an useful source for producing gelatin nanoparticles, due to its application in cosmetics and therapeutics. Gelatin nanoparticle (GNP) is an excellent biodegradable and biocompatible material. Due to its chemical modification potential gelatin nanoparticles are very promising in carrier system for drug delivery. Most of the commercials gelatin are derived from mammalian sources, such as porcine and bovine. Fish gelatin has become a good alternative resource for GNPs production in view of the various religious, safety and economic reasons. In this present work, the tilapia fish gelatin was used as a raw material for the production gelatin nanoparticles via modified two-step desolvation method. In this process, obtaining high molecular weight (HMW) fraction content of fish gelatin is very crucial for the preparation of stable and small size GNPs. Hence the present study was carried out to assess the various formulation parameters in the first step in the two-step desolvation method to produce fish gelatin nanoparticles (FGNPs). The nanoparticles formed were characterized for mean size and size distribution, while the morphology of the particles was evaluated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The size of fish gelatin nanoparticles was found to be 254±11 nm which is suitable for drug delivery. The study indicated that a high fraction of HMW in precipitate at the first step desolvation could be obtained by using gelatin concentration 9%, temperature 45°C, centrifugation speed at 12000 x g, and centrifugation time was 5 min. It showed that this method is efficient compared to conventional method.
Phoenix dactylifera L (Date palm) is one of the oldest known fruit crops in the world, and
the consumption of date fruits is no longer restricted to the Middle Eastern countries. Date
palm kernels are waste products of date fruit industry which are normally being discarded.
Based on their dietary fiber content; date palm kernels (DPK) have been proposed to be used
as fiber-based food supplement, caffeine free coffee alternative and animal feed ingredient.
Hence, utilization of such waste is highly desirable for the date industry. To accommodate these
benefits, and subsequent to some uses associated with DPK, this study sought to investigate the
biochemical and nutritional values of the Barhi date palm kernels (BDPK) grown in Iraq. The
results show that BDPK is an excellent source of dietary fiber (66.24 g/100g). Glutamic acid
was found to be the predominant amino acid, (0.674 g/100g), followed by Arginine and aspartic
acid (0.437 g/100g and 0.320 g/100g, respectively). Potassium was the most occurring mineral
in BDPK (2.39 g/kg), and the main sugars were sucrose and fructose (0.548 g/100g and 0.249
g/100g, respectively). Gas-liquid chromatography revealed that the main unsaturated fatty acid
(USFA) was oleic acid (40.927 mg/100g), while the main saturated fatty acid (SFA) were lauric
acid (20.270 mg/100g) and myristic acid (12.288 mg/100g). Furthermore, the BDPK depicted
considerable concentrations of vitamins, in which vitamin B5 (40.4 mg/100g) showed the
highest value. The results obtained indicate a strong potential for BDPK to be used in human
nutrition, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical applications and may provide an important economic
advantage through increasing the utilization of BDKP while also additive value will be added
to the residue.