Pectin is an intriguing structural heteropolysaccharide polymer ubiquitously in terrestrial plants. As a byproduct from agricultural and biological processes, pectin has been widely used for a variety of food applications, such as gelling agent, stabilizer, emulsifier and encapsulation wall materials. However, it’s role as functional ingredients is substantially limited by its poor solubility, large molecular weight and viscosity in water. Previous studies have demonstrated the great potential of ultrasound treatment to improve the functionality of pectin, but a large ultrasound power is indispensable to achieve acceptable pectin properties. The large ultrasound power requirement brings in issues with electricity consumption, tip durability and degradation of nutrient compounds in foods. In this study, we combined ultrasound treatment with microfluidization to modify the physiochemical properties of pectin. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM) visualization, we found that the morphological properties of pectin changed as the polymer chains became shorter and less branched. Further emulsification study suggests the superb thermal stability of the modified pectin. When stored at 65 °C, the droplet size of emulsions stabilized by original pectin increased by 32.6%, while the droplet size of microfluidization-ultrasound treated pectin emulsion almost remained the same. In addition, our work also suggests that a substantial improvement in interfacial loading, rheological properties and encapsulation feasibility are achieved with the modified pectin. Microfluidization and ultrasound treatment may help improve pectin functionalities synergistically, by depolymerizing pectin chains at different target sites.

Synergistic modification of pectin using microfluidization and ultrasound for enhanced emulsification and encapsulation properties

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.