Degradation of puffed feather to produce functional biosurfactants by Chitinophaga eiseniae 4 H

This study demonstrated that feathers, primarily composed of keratin, can be converted into eco-friendly products using the newly isolated strain Chitinophaga eiseniae 4 H (C.eiseniae 4 H), which degrades puffed feather powder by over 90 % in 36 hours. The PFP degradation solution's surface tension dropped to 32.35 ± 0.096 mN/m after 60 hours, with inhibition zones of 12 mm and 14 mm observed for the 48-hour and 72-hour hydrolysates. Additionally, the concentrations of total amino acids and essential amino acids increased significantly after 24 hours of hydrolysis. This approach provides a novel strategy to utilize feather-containing waste for producing value-added biosurfactants with antibacterial and antioxidant properties.