Chitin is highly insoluble N-acetylated polymer of β- (1, 4)-D-glucosamine. Chitosan is an acid soluble deacetylated form of chitin prepared from crab or shrimp shell. Both chitin and chitosan are present in most fungi and marine sources. The physicochemical characteristics of chitosan depend on the degree of deacetylation and also differ, based on the species and method of preparation. Chemical deacetylation is not necessary in the case of chitosan obtained from fungal source. Therefore the physicochemical properties and yield of chitosan isolated directly from fungi may be optimized by controlled fermentation. In this work fungal chitosan was prepared from Mucor hiemalis NCIM 873 without using strong alkaline solution normally used for deacetylation. Fungal chitosan was isolated at different time intervals and characterized by FT-IR and viscometry. The separated chitosan was also evaluated for its antioxidant activity by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method using Ascorbic acid as a standard. The isolated Chitosan possessed degree of deacetylation in the range of 85-98%, viscosity between 14.12-15.94 (cP) and exhibited significant antioxidant activity in comparison to Ascorbic acid.
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