154
conjugation, the major fraction of sulphur is present in thiol form where as the
remaining takes part in disulfide bonding. The content of thiol group has a marked
effect on the properties of thiolated pectin including gelation time, swelling ratio,
viscosity, polymer concentration, hardness, elastic moduli and H2O2 concentration.
The resulting gels also display microgel particles and pseudoplastic properties.
Sun Drying Modification
Sun drying as a technique for modifying pectin has been analysed by Asgar et al.
(2003) in case of Japanese persimmon fruits. The workers reported a 44% increase
in the yields, and sugar content of cold-water-soluble pectic polysaccharides
(CWPs) during sun drying indicating the extensive solubilisation of pectins as a
result of sun drying. The presence of galacturonic acid in the hydrolyzate of CWPs
from fresh and sun-dried fruits was confirmed by paper chromatography. Table 1
shows that the yield of CWPs was increased about 44% during the sun-drying
process.
Applications of Pectin
Delivery of Probiotics
Pectin finds use in the delivery of probiotics owing to its ability to form three dimensional and water insoluble gels (Lee et al. 2009) and exhibiting resistance to GI
conditions (Cabrera et al. 2011). Pectin is less sensitive towards chemical agents
and shows higher resistance to gastric conditions, than other polysaccharides like
alginate. Voo et al. (2011) revealed that Pectin beads encapsulating poultry probiotic
cells exhibited higher mechanical strength than those of alginate. Gebara et al.
(2013) reported that pectin encapsulated Lactobacillus acidophilus exhibited lesser
reduction (1.51 log cycles) than non-encapsulated cells (3.54 log cycles) when incubated in gastric and intestinal juices. Encapsulation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus
with pectin also improved its viability in gastric environments at very low pH. Due
to highly porous nature and weak binding to cross-linking agents, pectin finds less
use in encapsulation (Chan et al. 2011). The workers suggested the use of starch or
rice bran as filler in order to counter the porosity in pectin and to increase the
protective effect for delivery. Chotiko and Sathivel (2016) used a combination of
pectin and rice bran extract for probiotic delivery of Lactobacillus plantarum under
gastric conditions that resulted in its increased viability. Increasing the rice bran
content resulted in an increase in the sphericity and encapsulation efficiency of the
pectin- rice bran capsules. Rice bran increased the viscosity of the pectin solutions,
which is necessary for forming spherical beads or capsules. The study further
revealed the creation of a mesh-like network in the calcium-pectinate capsules
N. Noor et al.
conjugation, the major fraction of sulphur is present in thiol form where as the
remaining takes part in disulfide bonding. The content of thiol group has a marked
effect on the properties of thiolated pectin including gelation time, swelling ratio,
viscosity, polymer concentration, hardness, elastic moduli and H2O2 concentration.
The resulting gels also display microgel particles and pseudoplastic properties.
Sun Drying Modification
Sun drying as a technique for modifying pectin has been analysed by Asgar et al.
(2003) in case of Japanese persimmon fruits. The workers reported a 44% increase
in the yields, and sugar content of cold-water-soluble pectic polysaccharides
(CWPs) during sun drying indicating the extensive solubilisation of pectins as a
result of sun drying. The presence of galacturonic acid in the hydrolyzate of CWPs
from fresh and sun-dried fruits was confirmed by paper chromatography. Table 1
shows that the yield of CWPs was increased about 44% during the sun-drying
process.
Applications of Pectin
Delivery of Probiotics
Pectin finds use in the delivery of probiotics owing to its ability to form three dimensional and water insoluble gels (Lee et al. 2009) and exhibiting resistance to GI
conditions (Cabrera et al. 2011). Pectin is less sensitive towards chemical agents
and shows higher resistance to gastric conditions, than other polysaccharides like
alginate. Voo et al. (2011) revealed that Pectin beads encapsulating poultry probiotic
cells exhibited higher mechanical strength than those of alginate. Gebara et al.
(2013) reported that pectin encapsulated Lactobacillus acidophilus exhibited lesser
reduction (1.51 log cycles) than non-encapsulated cells (3.54 log cycles) when incubated in gastric and intestinal juices. Encapsulation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus
with pectin also improved its viability in gastric environments at very low pH. Due
to highly porous nature and weak binding to cross-linking agents, pectin finds less
use in encapsulation (Chan et al. 2011). The workers suggested the use of starch or
rice bran as filler in order to counter the porosity in pectin and to increase the
protective effect for delivery. Chotiko and Sathivel (2016) used a combination of
pectin and rice bran extract for probiotic delivery of Lactobacillus plantarum under
gastric conditions that resulted in its increased viability. Increasing the rice bran
content resulted in an increase in the sphericity and encapsulation efficiency of the
pectin- rice bran capsules. Rice bran increased the viscosity of the pectin solutions,
which is necessary for forming spherical beads or capsules. The study further
revealed the creation of a mesh-like network in the calcium-pectinate capsules
N. Noor et al.