Proteolytic activity from chicken intestine and pancreas: extraction, partial characterization and application for hyaluronic acid separation from chicken comb.

Background: The potential utilization of viscera and combs, by-products from the chicken-processing industry, was investigated. Chicken combs have been reported to consist of hyaluronic acid (HA) bound to protein. Thus proteases extracted from broiler viscera were applied to digest combs to separate HA, a high-value ingredient widely used in pharmaceutical and medical products.