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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Chem.
Sec. Green and Sustainable Chemistry
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1504582
This article is part of the Research Topic New Trends in Green Chemistry: Sustainable and Alternative Strategies for the Extractions of High Value Compounds from Agri-Food Matrices and Residues View all articles

Pectin obtention from agroindustrial wastes of Malus domestica using green solvents (citric acid and natural deep eutectic solvents). Chemical, thermal and rheological characterization

Provisionally accepted
Carolina Gómez Vargas Carolina Gómez Vargas 1,2Nora Marta Andrea Ponce Nora Marta Andrea Ponce 1,2Carlos A Stortz Carlos A Stortz 1,2Eliana Noemi Fissore Eliana Noemi Fissore 1,2Pablo Bonelli Pablo Bonelli 1,2Carlos Mauricio Otálora González Carlos Mauricio Otálora González 1,2Lia Noemi Gerschenson Lia Noemi Gerschenson 1,2*
  • 1 National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 2 University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The use of green solvents, citric acid (CA) and natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES), for the obtention of pectin from wastes (pulp and peel) of Malus domestica was studied. The NADES used were made up of citric acid-glucose-water (N1) or lactic acid-glucose-water (N2). The fractions rich in pectin obtained after exposure to NADES showed lower yield (4 vs 11 g/100g CA), equal to or lower degree of methoxylation (53-71 vs 73 moles/100 moles CA), equal to or greater content of uronic acid (50-63 vs 51 g/100g CA) than those isolated with CA and the ones obtained from peel were the most thermally stable. These pectins showed greater linearity, shorter branch length and lower arabinose content than those obtained with CA. Neutral sugars present in highest concentration in all the isolated fractions were arabinose, xylose, galactose, and rhamnose. Glucose was also detected, probably due to contamination with starch. Their aqueous solutions showed pseudoplastic behavior. The effect of ultrasound assistance was preliminarily evaluated in the production of pectic fractions using N2, observing higher yields (13-18 g/100g), in general a higher concentration of uronic acid and a higher degree of methoxylation when compared with the extraction without US. They also showed a greater arabinose content (less degradative treatment), lower glucose content (increased purity) and higher RG-I content. It is known that RG-I is linked to pectin bioactivity and rheological behavior. The green solvent techniques assayed, allowed obtaining fractions rich in uronic acid, with different chemical, thermochemical and rheological characteristics. In the case of isolation with NADES, the yield was low, but preliminary tests with ultrasound assistance showed that it is possible to overcome this limitation.

    Keywords: Pectin production, Apple wastes, Citric Acid, NADES, ultrasound, characterization and functionality

    Received: 01 Oct 2024; Accepted: 03 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gómez Vargas, Ponce, Stortz, Fissore, Bonelli, Otálora González and Gerschenson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lia Noemi Gerschenson, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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