All Commercial Name Pectin, Poly Galacturonic Acid
Pectin is a type of fiber with a natural origin and it can be found in various fruits and vegetables. It also acts as the linking agent between plant cells. Galacturonic acid is the main chemical manufacturing block of pectin that can be found in fruits and vegetables, and it is also part of anhydrous polymer groups of galacturonic acid. Maximum pectin can be found in unripe fruits and after fruit ripening, the quality and amount of pectin also decline. Pectin is one of the polysaccharides in the family carbohydrates that are found in the cellular wall of herbaceous plants. In fact, pectin is the main component of the white and sponge-like part inside the fruit skin. This odorless material is a flavor similar to gum. Fruits such as apple, plum, cherry, different types of citrus, and other products such as potato, sugar beet, tomato, and other vegetables have pectin. Apple and citrus are the major rich sources of pectin.
Product Applications
Some of the applications of pectin as explained as follows:
- Jam & Gelatin: It creates an optimal texture, the generation of water on the surface is limited and the fruit will be distributed evenly in the product.
- Canning: Since there is no sugar substitute other than fruit juice or fruit concentrate in these products, the amount of solid material of solution is low. The use of pectin will help build suitable viscosity in the can texture.
- Cooked products: Some of the cooked products may include gelatin-like cores and the doughy-like surrounding of the core should preserve the moisture, flavor, and taste. To preserve this layer (between dough and core), the gel should not become liquid during heating. Pectin gels are irreversible in this thermally and therefore, it is an optimal solution for this end. In other words, the gel is pre-prepared, pectin is placed inside the dough, and the cooking proceeds without any concern about the final product being liquid-like. The gel is injected into the donut and other sweets after cooking.
- Products Make of Milk: Pectin can be used as a stabilizer of protein dispersions at low pHs, such as yogurt or milk/fruit juice combo and this also prevents the problem of sediment caused by curdling of caséine.
- Sweets: Fruit-flavored confectionery gels prepared with pectin will have a softer and more optimal texture.
- Meat Products: Cooking efficiency is improved, formulation expensed declines and the texture in food products increases.
- Emulsifier: Due to low molecular mass and high rate of methoxylation, the pectin of citrus is low, and therefore, it is capable of stabilizing the emulation of oil in water (e.g., mayo).
- Medicine: Pectin prevents constipation and diarrhea by increasing the density and size of the feces. Moreover, it is highly useful for preventing colorectal cancer and reducing blood cholesterol.
Pectin with an esterification rate higher than 50% is called “High Methoxyl Pectin (HM)” and pectin with low methyl ester lower than 50% is known as “Low Methoxyl Pectin (LM)”. Usually, extracted pectin has 50% units of esterified acid and will be categorized as High Methoxyl Pectin (HM). High Methoxyl Pectins are categorized into several categories, from rapid set pectins to slow set pectins, according to the temperature to build gel. Improvement of extraction process or acidic treatment would cause de-esterification and produce LM pectin with less than 50% methyl ester groups.
The research team of our company was able to produce high-quality pectin at a semi-industrial scale.