Effect of chitin and prawn shell on the growth of albino rat

The effect of addition of pure chitin from prawn shell, deproteinised prawn shell, demineralized prawn shell and dry prawn shell in casein based control diet on albino rats was studied. The diets contained 0.5% chitin and 10% protein. The results obtained in the studies show that the weight gain and feed conversion were maximum in the control diet. While addition of pure chitin slightly brought down the weight gain, addition of deproteinsed prawn shell have the minimum weight gain showing that presence of minerals adversely affects both feed consumption and weight gain in the case of albino rats. Although it was reported that addition of pure chitin at 0.5% in the commercial feed of broiler chicken gave increased weight, in the case of albino rats the weight gain was slightly reduced compared to control diet.