Extraction of Glycosaminoglycan Peptide from Bovine Nasal Cartilage with 0.1 M Sodium Acetate

Cartilage is a nonedible byproduct with little saleable value, but it is rich in glycosaminoglycan (GAG), which can be converted to a highly profitable product. In this study, GAG was extracted from bovine cartilaginous tissues including nasal cartilage, occipital articular cartilage, and temporomandibular joint disk without using the expensive exogenous proteinase commonly used to extract GAG from tissues. The GAG was extracted with highest yield ( approximately 80% of total tissue uronic acid) by incubating nasal cartilage in 0.1 M sodium acetate, pH 4.5, at 37 degrees C. Tissue autolysis was suggested to occur under the incubation condition to release GAG-peptide. The GAG-peptide purified by DEAE ion-exchange chromatography contained approximately 7% protein, 89% chondroitin sulfate, and 4% keratan sulfate and had no capability to interact with hyaluronic acid. The results suggest that the extraction method with 0.1 M sodium acetate described in this paper is useful for the preparation of GAG-peptide at a low cost.