Bioactive Compounds from Marine Water Ecosystem

Marine ecosystem contains a wide variety of biocompound sources ready to be exploited. Octopuses are a group of at least 200 species that represents one of the main fishing industries around the world. Octopus maya is the main product captured in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea and is the principal source of income of the fishing population in the Yucatan Peninsula. Besides its color, size, and characteristic flavor, O. maya exploitation is limited to commercialization of fresh or frozen arms, discarding the head and tips. These wastes are a source of protein, vitamins, lipids, amino acids, polysaccharides, and minerals. Collagen is the main protein related to the connective tissue in cephalopods, up to 32% in O. maya. Gelatin and collagen peptides are obtained from hydrolysis, enzymatic digestion, or microbial fermentation of collagen. All these biocompounds are considered a potential biomaterial used in Food and Beverage, Healthcare, Cosmetics, and other Industries. In this chapter, we will revise generalities of Octopus as a source of marine biocompounds and their exploitation, characteristics, sources, and extraction methods for collagen, gelatin, and collagen peptides, trends, and uses of these compounds in food industry.