Pectins are widely used as additive in foods and beverages such as a gelling agent, thickener, texturiser, emulsifier and stabiliser
[137][57]. In recent years, pectin has been applied as a fat or sugar alternative in low-calorie foods
[12][23], dietetic food
[138][58], food packaging
[139][59] and drug carrier
[119][37]. Selection of pectin for a particular food depends on many factors, including the texture required, pH, processing temperature, presence of ions, proteins and the expected shelf life of the product
[140][60]. MPP was recovered from peel of ‘Nam dok mai’ variety (Mox > 8%) and was found suitable as fat replacement in a Chinese sausage formular in its original form and colour
[12][23]. Additionally, MPP obtained from ‘Chok anan’ variety was utilised as a substrate for pectic oligosaccharide hydrolysate with pectinase. The digested monosaccharide compositions were mainly fructose and glucose while arabinose had prominent influence on prebiotic potentials of
Bifidobacterium animalis [141][61]. Thin films have been used as food packaging polymer and many drug delivery systems of oral, buccal, and transdermal routes. In one study, thin film was fabricated from a mixture of LMP and MPP at 1:2 ratio with 40% (
w/w) glycerol. The film attained the highest elongation at break (8.80%) and lowest Young’s modulus (83.19 MPa) with an increasing hydrophobicity when the content of MPP increased
[8][36]. For a topical drug delivery, de-esterified MPP with NaOH was proposed for thin film development
[119][37]. In this same study, the DE decreased when a higher volume (~3.0 mL) of 1 N NaOH at 25 °C was employed in the preparation.
Wongkaew et al.
[6][40] explained the industrial value chain process of MPP as illustrated in
Figure 32. First, the biomass was dried and pectin extraction can be achieved with MAE techniques. The dried peel powder was suspended in diluted acidic solution (distilled H
2O adjusted to pH 1.5 with 2 M HCl) and heated in a microwave oven followed by separating the residue from the solution using filtration technique. The liquid is combined with a 1:1 ethanol-water mixture to precipitate the pectin, and then it is separated by filtration. The pectin was dried at 40 °C until a consistent weight was attained. The final product can be applied to food additives or sources of prebiotic or in pharmaceutical application.