Economic and Non-Seasonal Source for Production of Chitin and Chitosan

Fungal mycelia and higher edible fungi are considered as an attractive alternative for chitin and chitosan biopolymers production due to different reasons. They have a variety of unique physicochemical and biological characteristics. Despite their many benefits, commercial products now available rely on marine sources rather than fungal cell walls. Recently, the investment of fungal chitinous polymers into commercial products is encouraging and will increase soon because of their proven properties. Many studies continue to be reported on the development and optimization of both production processes and extraction procedures. As a consequence, once their economic feasibility has been proved, similar procedures will be easily scaled up to industrial levels. Furthermore, when the appropriateness of these biopolymers for specific applications is established, interest in their commercialization will grow, resulting in a greater range of commercial goods based on fungal chitinous polymers. Through the following titles, this chapter aims to highlight the chitin and chitosan importance from fungal origin, as alternatives of synthetic chemicals and those from crustacean origin, for usage in various fields due to their useful traits and environmentally-compatible characteristics.