Abstract:

The extraction induced by short-term treatment with dilute hydrochloric acid of gelatin from rabbit skin was
investigated in the current work. Optimization of 4 process parameters including HCl concentration, HCl treatment
time, extraction pH and temperature for improved extraction yield and gel strength of gelatin was implemented using an
orthogonal array design. The optimum extraction conditions were determined as follows: 10 min treatment with 1% HCl and
subsequent extraction in water acidified to pH 4 at 65 ℃. Under these conditions, the yield and gel strength of gelatin were
(86.85 ± 1.71)% and (481.43 ± 16.89) g, respectively. The basic properties of rabbit skin gelatin met the requirements of the
Chinese national standard (GB 6783—2013).

Key words: rabbit skin, gelatin, extraction, yield, gel strength