Patent ID: 8222232

Claim:
A method comprising: (a) providing a source of chitin-containing fungal biomass having cells with cell walls having glucans, proteins, and/or other polysaccharides therein; (b) performing a pretreatment of the fungal biomass to at least partially break down the cell walls of the fungal biomass without converting a substantial amount of chitin to a water soluble form; (c) separating at least a portion of the glucans, proteins and/or other polysaccharides from the fungal biomass, to produce a chitin-containing semi-purified source of fungal biomass; (d) performing an enzymatic treatment on the semi-purified source of fungal biomass converting the chitin in the semi-purified source of fungal biomass to N-acetylglucosamine; and (e) recovering the N-acetylglucosamine for use in food additives, dietary supplements, cosmetics, or pharmaceutical compositions.