Solid wastes create a major problem for leather industry, among which animal fleshing constitutes about 56-60% of the pre-tanned solid wastes. The current work aims at the fermentative utilization of animal fleshing, for its reuse in other industries. Lactic acid fermentation is an in situ acid generating technology for recovery of biomolecules from solid wastes. Wet leather fleshings were delimed with 0.1% H2O2 and 0.2N HCl and their proximate composition was analyzed. Fleshings were fermented using Lactobacillus plantarum. Fermentation of Steam cooked (80°C for 15 minutes) fleshings, mixed with 19.5% (v/w) L.plantarum, 20% (w/w) sugar and 2% (w/w) common salt at 30±2°C yielded lowest pH (2.9) and highest lactic acid content (4.05g/L) on 24th day of fermentation. The fermented mixture was lyophilized to obtain a biomass which could be used in livestock/aquaculture feeds. The current work thus highlights the nutritive value of fleshings and their recycling in an eco-friendly manner.
