Collagen from common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) unesu

Collagen was prepared from common minke whale unesu and characterised. The yield of collagen was high, about 28.4% on a wet weight basis. By SDS–PAGE and CM-Toyopearl 650 M column chromatography, the collagen was classified as type I collagen. The denaturation temperature of the collagen was 31.5 °C, about 6–7 °C lower than that of porcine collagen. Attenuated total reflectance-FTIR analysis indicated that acid-soluble collagen from common minke whale unesu held its triple helical structure well, but the structures of porcine skin collagen and pepsin-solubilized collagen from common minke whale unesu were changed slightly, due to the loss of N- and C-terminus domains.