An Overview on the Fundamentals of Pectin.

Abstract

Pectin is an important polysaccharide with applications in foods, Pharmaceuticals, and a number of other industries. Its importance in the food sector lies in its ability to form gel in the presence of Ca 2+ ions or a solute at low pH. In food industry, pectin is used in jams, jellies, frozen foods, and more recently in low-calorie foods as a fat and/or sugar replacer. Pilgim et al. (1991). It is used to reduced blood cholesterol and gastrointestinal disorders. Pectin is also used in various applications such as edible films, paper substitute, foams and plasticizers, etc. Pectins are heat sensitive, so temperature is monitored strictly during extraction in order to obtain the highest quality product. Pectins are most widely present in apple pomace and orange peel which are commercially extracted. It is used in low-sugar and low-fat applications. It has been used as a carrier for drug delivery to the gastrointestinal tract in the form of matrix tablets, gel beads, film-coated dose form. From a culinary perspective, pectin is widely used in enhancing the flavour properties in food. This review will discuss the importance, chemisty, gel formation mechanism and fundamental of pectin used in the food industry.

The Use of Chitosan, Alginate, and Pectin in the Biomedical and Food Sector—Biocompatibility, Bioadhesiveness, and Biodegradability

“…Pectin is one of the main constituents of citrus fruits, apple, and mango, and has good gelling properties [9,74]. Pectin can be extracted from many food industry by-products, such as fruit and vegetable pomaces.…”

“…Pectin has many applications in the food and beverage industry as a thickening and gelling agent, colloidal stabilizer, texturizer, and emulsifier [70,71], and for applying coatings on fresh and cut fruits or vegetables [72,73]. Pectin is generally formed of water-soluble pectinic acids with varying methyl ester contents, which are capable of forming gels alongside sugar and acid when exposed to the correct conditions [74]. Pectin for food technology or pharmaceuticals, especially for colon treatments, has been comprehensively reviewed over time [75,76,77,78].…”

Pectin: Properties and utilization in meat products

“…Gelation is the most unique property of peçtin, pectin forms gels in the presence of Ca 2+ ions or sugar and acid also traps the liquid by forming a three-dimensional network due to the merging or cross-linking of long polymer chains (Narasimman and Sethuraman, 2016). Two different pectin types form gels under completely different conditions.…”

“…The ester group is less hydrophilic than the carboxyl group; therefore, HMP makes gel at a higher temperature than the LMP. Low methoxy pectin forms gel in pH (2-6) and presence of divalent ions such as calcium, high methoxy pectin forms a gel in the presence of sugar (>50%) and acid (pH: 3.1-3.6) (Narasimman and Sethuraman, 2016). (Öztürk et al, 2016).…”

Review: Komposit Polimer Pektin dalam Sistem Penghantaran Obat

“…Nining,Majalah Farmasetika,7 (1) Nilai Derajat Esterifikasi (DE) pada pektin dengan kadar metoksil tinggi yaitu lebih dari 50%. Pektin metoksil tinggi (HM) memerlukan kondisi yang spesifik dalam membentuk gel, seperti pH (3)(4)(5)(6), adanya padatan terlarut seperti sukrosa, serta suhu yang lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan pektin metoksil rendah (LM) 22 . Fungsi sukrosa dalam pembentukan gel adalah untuk meningkatkan viskositas dan proses gelasi 23 .…”