Optimum conditions for high-quality gelatin recovery from camel skin and its molecular, structural, and rheological characterization were carried out in this study. Increased yield and gel strength were recorded, with an increase in camel skin pretreatment times of 6 to 42 h and 0.50 and 0.75 M-NaOH. Gelatin from skin pretreated with 0.75 and 0.5 M-NaOH for 42 h showed the highest yield (22.60%) and gel strength (365.5 g), respectively. Structural characterization by Fourier transformation infrared spectra, X-ray diffraction, and nuclear magnetic resonance indicated that all gelatins possessed major peaks in the amide region, and diffraction peaks around 22° were basically amorphous. The temperatures for gelling and melting ranged from 20.9 °C to 25.8 °C and 27.34 °C to 30.49 °C. Microstructure revealed loose network with more voids in gelatin from skin pretreated with 0.5 and 0.75 M-NaOH for 6 h, while a highly cross-linked network and less voids were observed in those pretreated with 0.75 M-NaOH for 24 h and 0.5 M-NaOH for 42 h. The results reveal that great potential exists in producing halal gelatin with excellent quality and functionality from camel skin.
Keywords: FTIR; XRD; camel skin gelatin; characterization; gel strength.