Effects of carboxymethyl chitosan adsorption on bioactive components of Antarctic krill oil

[Display omitted] •A novel refining method for krill oil using carboxymethyl chitosan adsorption.•Acid value and fluorine content of krill oil were reduced simultaneously.•Main bioactive components were undiminished after adsorption.•Neuroprotective activity of krill oil against H2O2-induced damage of PC12 cells. High acid value (AV) and fluorine content of Antarctic krill oil (AKO) extracted from frozen krill by ethanol limit its product development. In this study, a method was proposed to reduce the AV and fluorine content of AKO by carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) adsorption. The optimal adsorption condition was 12.5% (w/v) of CMCS at 30℃ for 15 min. At this condition, AV and fluorine content decreased by 78.0% and 61.4%, respectively. It is interesting that CMCS adsorption showed specificity to particular substances. Although free fatty acids content showed a significant reduction, free EPA and DHA, phospholipid and astaxanthin remained almost constant. Moreover, CMCS adsorption showed no influence on neuroprotective activity of AKO against H2O2-induced neuro-damage of PC12 cells. The reclaimed CMCS showed an undiminished antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The CMCS adsorption shows a potential development for refining AKO and other oils in food industry.