Extraction and characterisation of pomace pectin from gold kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis)

Actinidia chinensis Planch.: A Review of Chemistry and Pharmacology

Actinidia chinensis Planch. (A. chinensis), commonly known as Chinese kiwifruit, is a China native fruit, which becomes increasingly popular due to attractive economic, nutritional, and health benefits properties. The whole plant including fruits, leaves, vines, and roots of A. chinensis are used mainly as food or additive in food products and as folk medicine in China. It is a good source of triterpenoids, polyphenols, vitamin C, carbohydrate, amino acid, and minerals. These constituents render the A. chinensis with a wide range of pharmacological properties including antitumor, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, hypolipemic, antidiabetic, and cardiovascular protective activities, suggesting that it may possibly be value in the prevention and treatment of pathologies associated to cancer, oxidative stress, and aging. This minireview provides a brief knowledge about the recent advances in chemistry, biological activities, utilization, and storage of Chinese kiwifruit. Future research directions on how to better use of this crop are suggested.

Physicochemical and rheological characterization of pectin-rich fraction from blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) wine pomace

Blueberry wine pomace is rich in pectin, which has been extensively used as a functional dietary fiber and a rheological modifier in the food industry. This paper reports a method to extract the pectin-rich fraction (PF) with a mediate degree of esterification of 51.66% from blueberry wine pomace and provides insight into its relationship between the structure and rheological properties. The impacts of related extrinsic factors, such as sucrose, ions and pH, were also studied in view of food applications. The viscosity of PF aqueous dispersion gradually increased with its concentration. The addition of sucrose, CaCl₂ or NaCl to the solution resulted in increased viscosity. However, the elevations in temperature and pH led to decrease in solution viscosity. The viscoelastic property of PF dispersion displayed strong temperature dependence but weak frequency dependence. This was largely due to PF concentration, sucrose, CaCl₂ and solution pH. The present study revealed the unique characteristic of medium-methoxylated pectin fraction and the obtained results are helpful in value-added utilization of blueberry wine pomace.

Blueberry Pectin Extraction Methods Influence Physico-Chemical Properties

Pectins from highbush blueberry powder were sequentially solubilized in water, chelator, and sodium carbonate solvents and precipitated (ADF.WSF, ADF.CSF, and ADF.NSF) or not precipitated in ethanol (DF.WSF, DF.CSF, and DF.NSF) before dialysis and freeze-drying. Alcohol precipitation more effectively removed bound anthocyanins and low molar mass pectins from water- and chelator soluble fractions than dialysis alone. Blueberry water soluble fractions were high methoxyl pectins, rich in neutral sugars (36 to 38 mol%), and had high molar mass (7.01 × 10⁵ to 2.71 × 10⁶  g/mol). Blueberry chelator soluble fractions were low methoxyl pectins and rich in uronic acids (90 to 92 mol%) which were more linear and less branched structure than other fractions or commercial citrus pectin. The molar mass ranged from 1.59 × 10⁶ to 2.06 × 10⁶  g/mol. Water- and chelator soluble fractions exhibited pseudoplastic behavior (n < 1) at 1% dispersion. Blueberry sodium carbonate soluble fractions were rich in protein (18%) and neutral sugars (42 to 28 mol%), and had low molar mass (1.08 × 10⁵ to 1.27 × 10⁵  g/mol). Blueberry pectins have desirable physico-chemical properties for use as functional ingredients in food or beverages. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Alcohol precipitation effectively removed anthocyanins from the pectin. The characterization data provided the benefits of blueberry pectin as a functional ingredient. This study can be used by food or product developers who are interested in pectin from blueberries or other berry products.

Structure-Related Gelling of Pectins and Linking with Other Natural Compounds: A Review

Pectins are polysaccharides present commonly in dicotyledonous and non-grass monocotyledonous plants. Depending on the source, pectins may vary in molecular size, degrees of acetylation and methylation and contents of galacturonic acid and neutral sugar residues. Therefore, pectins demonstrate versatile gelling properties and are capable of forming complexes with other natural compounds, and as a result, they are useful for designing food products. This review focuses on the structure-related mechanisms of pectin gelling and linking with other natural compounds such as cellulose, hemicellulose, ferulic acid, proteins, starch, and chitosan. For each system, optimal conditions for obtaining useful functionality for food design are described. This review strongly recommends that pectins, as a natural biocomponent, should be the focus for both the food industry and the bioeconomy since pectins are abundant in fruits and may also be extracted from cell walls in a similar way to cellulose and hemicellulose. However, due to the complexity of the pectin family and the dynamic structural changes during plant organ development, a more intensive study of their structure-related properties is necessary. Fractioning using different solvents at well-defined development stages and an in-depth study of the molecular structure and properties within each fraction and stage, is one possible way to proceed with the investigation.

Emerging concepts in the nutraceutical and functional properties of pectin-A Review

Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide found ubiquitously in terrestrial plants. It finds diverse food applications such as that of a gelling agent, stabilizer, and fat replacer. In the pharmaceutical arena, pectin exhibits a number of functions, from decreasing blood fat to combating various types of cancers. This review shows the shift of pectin from its conventional roles to its progressive applications. Insights into the advances in the production of pectin, the role it plays as a nutraceutical, possible prebiotic potential and a delivery vehicle for probiotics, and food applications are highlighted. Bioactive and functional properties of pectin are discussed and how the structural built up defines them, is emphasized. As a biopolymer, the applications of pectin in active packaging are also mentioned.

Characterization of metabolites in different kiwifruit varieties by NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy

It is known from our previous studies that kiwifruits, which are used in common human diet, have preventive properties of coronary artery disease. This study describes a combination of ¹H NMR spectroscopy, multivariate data analyses and fluorescence measurements in differentiating of some kiwifruit varieties, their quenching and antioxidant properties. A total of 41 metabolites were identified by comparing with literature data Chenomx database and 2D NMR. The binding properties of the extracted polyphenols against HSA showed higher reactivity of studied two cultivars in comparison with the common Hayward. The results showed that the fluorescence of HSA was quenched by Bidan as much as twice than by other fruits. The correlation between the binding properties of polyphenols in the investigated fruits, their relative quantification and suggested metabolic pathway was established. These results can provide possible application of fruit extracts in pharmaceutical industry.

Natural Pectin Polysaccharides as Edible Coatings

The most fashionable trends in food packaging research are targeted towards improvements in food quality and safety by increasing the use of environmentally-friendly materials, ideally those able to be obtained from bio-based resources and presenting biodegradable characteristics. Edible films represent a key area of development in new multifunctional materials by their character and properties to effectively protect food with no waste production. The use of edible films should be considered as a clean and elegant solution to problems related with waste disposal in packaging materials. In particular, pectin has been reported as one of the main raw materials to obtain edible films by its natural abundance, low cost and renewable character. The latest innovations in food packaging by the use of pectin-based edible films are reviewed in this paper, with special focus on the use of pectin as base material for edible coatings. The structure, properties related to the intended use in food packaging and main applications of pectins are herein reported.