Читать книгу Biomolecules from Natural Sources - Группа авторов - Страница 73

Pectin is a water-soluble colloidal carbohydrate that occurs in ripe fruit and vegetables. Pectin is a family of complex polysaccharides present in the walls that surround growing and dividing plant cells. It is also present in the junctional zone between cells within secondary cell walls including xylem and fiber cells in woody tissue. Its traditional application is in making fruit jellies and jams. Pectin is an essential component in the initial growth and ripening process of fruit and is often a waste material from the food and fruit processing industry. Pectins are made either from apple pulp, byproducts of cider manufacture, or from the peel of citrus fruits such as limes, the preferred source, lemons or oranges, byproducts of fruit juice manufacture. Pectins have long been recognized as the main gel-forming agents in jams and fruit-based preserves. It was known for a time that polysaccharides can stabilize colloidal sols and suspensions. The simple addition of water-soluble pectate for example: usually the sodium salt will prevent aggregation and precipitation. Gels can be obtained by mixing gelatin and pectin into lipid in water emulsions. The results are low-fat margarines and other spread type products. Pectins are used in drug delivery and as a colloidal [201].