Antimicrobial Activity of the Chitosan Extracted from Metapenaeus stebbingi Shell Wastes

In the study, chitosan chemically extracted from Metapenaeus stebbingi shells obtained from shrimp processing factories and commercial chitosan were used as antimicrobial materials. Antimicrobial activities of the chitosans dissolved in acetic, lactic, formic and hydrochloric acid at different concentrations (1.00, 0.50, 0.25, 0.10 and 0.05%) were tested in vitro by using the disk diffusion method with standard microorganisms (Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli 1, Escherichia coli 2, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterecoccus faecalis, Aeromonas caviae). On the other hand, gentamicin was used as positive control. Antimicrobial test results indicated that chitosan demonstrated different effects depending on the chitosan concentration, solvent material and bacteria type. In the present study, both the extracted and commercial chitosans were observed to have antimicrobial effects on nearly all types of the bacteria.