Collagen derived from a giant African snail (Achatina achatina) for biomedical applications

Abstract

Achatina achatina (AA) is a rich source of collagen due to its large size, but it is underutilized. Type I collagen was extracted from AA to serve as an alternative to existing collagen sources. The collagen was extracted at varying alkaline and temperature conditions to determine the optimal parameters that would give a high yield of acid-soluble collagen. The extracted collagen was characterised using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to confirm the integrity and purity of the extracted collagen. The type of collagen was determined using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The α-1, α-2, and dimer electrophoresis bands confirmed that the collagen is type I, and the XRD data supported the findings. The highest collagen yield was obtained at 4 ℃ for 48 h, which decreased with increasing temperature due to the instability of the protein in acid at high temperatures. A cytotoxicity test was conducted using an Alamar blue assay. The AA collagen-treated normal prostate cell line (PNT2) showed no significant difference from the untreated control cells. The high-quality type I collagen extracted from AA has the potential for biomedical and other industrial applications.